On the ASX, the Betashares Australian Sustainability Leaders ETF (ASX: FAIR) and iShares Edge MSCI Australia Minimum Volatility ETF (ASX: MVOL) are two ASX ETFs worthy of closer inspection.
What the Betashares FAIR ETF does for investors
The BetaShares FAIR ETF provides exposure to the largest Australian shares and focuses on companies which operate ethically. FAIR has been certified by the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA), as part of the Responsible Investment Certification Program.
According to our most recent data, the FAIR ETF had $815.22 million of money invested. With FAIR’s total funds under management (FUM) figure over $100 million, the ETF meets our team’s minimum investment criteria for FUM levels. As a general rule, our team draws the line at $100 million for ETFs in the Australian shares sector because we believe that, relative to smaller ETFs, achieving this amount of FUM lowers the chance that the ETF issuer will close the ETF.
Fees to consider
According to our numbers, the annual management fee on the FAIR ETF is 0.49%. The issuer, Betashares, collects this fee automatically.
Meaning, if you invested $2,000 in the FAIR ETF for a full year you could expect to pay management fees of around $9.80. This fee is different from the fee you pay to your brokerage provider (e.g. CommSec, NabTrade, SelfWealth, etc.), which is the fee to buy or sell the ETF. In addition to a management fee charged by the issuer, be mindful to check the ‘spread‘ for the ETF.
A fee comparison
Fees aren’t the only key consideration for ETF investors, but it’s an easy thing to do. To understand if the ETF you’re looking at is too costly, compare it with other ETFs from the same sector, and against the industry average. For example, the average management fee (MER) across all of the ETFs covered by the Best ETFs Australia team was 0.5%, which is $10.00 per $2,000 invested. Keep in mind that small changes in the fees paid can make a big difference after 10 or 20 years. You should read the FAIR Product Disclosure Statement (PDS), available on the ETF issuer’s website, because it will detail the fees, tax implications and the latest information.
Side note: did you know you can access our full review of the FAIR ETF by clicking here?
What does the iShares MVOL ETF do?
The iShares MVOL ETF invests in Australian companies, with a focus on minimising volatility and risk within the portfolio. This is a low-cost way to access top Australian companies through a single fund.
With our numbers for December 2020, MVOL’s FUM stood at $73.64 million. Given it has less than $100 million invested, ask yourself (or your adviser) if the ETF is still too small (and if you should wait to buy into it). If you’re concerned the ETF might not be established enough, compare it alongside one of the other Index sector ETFs, using our full list of ETFs.
Are the fees for the MVOL ETF bad?
iShares, the ETF issuer, charges a yearly management fee of 0.30% for the MVOL ETF. Meaning, if you invested $2,000 for a full 12-month period you could expect to pay a base management fee of around $6.00.
The management fee is above the average for all ETFs on our list of ASX ETFs, but keep in mind the ETF may be able to justify the higher price tag with superior performance over time.
If you want to learn more about the MVOL ETF, you should know that you can access our free investment report.
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