If you’re looking for an ASX ETF in the Fixed interest – Australia sector, chances are, the Russell Investments Australian Government Bond ETF (ASX: RGB) is an ETF you’re considering. Here’s what you need to know.
How ASX investors can use the RGB ETF
The Russell Investments RGB ETF is a portfolio of Australian government fixed-income securities that meet a range of size and maturity selection criteria.
The RGB ETF is yet to reach scale
The Russell Investments RGB ETF had $85.09 million of money invested when we last pulled the monthly numbers. With a funds under management (FUM) or ‘market cap’ figure of less than $100 million, it’s important to consider if this ETF is still too small.
We say an ETF with more than $100 million invested is typically more sustainable than one with less than $100 million (at least). This is because if an ETF is too small, it may not be sustainable for an ETF issuer/provider, such as Russell Investments, to continue to operate it.
That said, there are exceptions to this rule of thumb, especially if the ETF issuer is committed to growing the ETF’s FUM to the point where it becomes profitable.
RGB ETF fees explained
Russell Investments charges investors a yearly management fee of 0.24% for the RGB ETF. This means that if you invested $2,000 in RGB for a full year, you could expect to pay management fees of around $4.80.
For context, the average management fee (MER) of all ETFs covered by Best ETFs Australia on our complete list of ASX ETFs is 0.5% or around $10.00 per $2,000 invested. Keep in mind, small changes in fees can make a big difference after 10 or 20 years.
Putting it all together
If you’re weighing up investing in RGB, keep in mind that this is just a brief introduction to the ETF. To supercharge your research, take a look at our free Russell Investments RGB report. Then, consider searching our complete list of ASX ETFs for similar ETFs in the Fixed interest – Australia sector to compare your options.
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