On the ASX, the iShares S&P Europe ETF (ASX: IEU) and VanEck Vectors MSCI World Ex-Australia Quality ETF (ASX: QUAL) are two ASX ETFs worthy of closer inspection.
What the iShares IEU ETF does for investors
The iShares IEU ETF provides investors with a broad exposure to leading European companies. This is a low-cost way to access a variety of European companies through a single fund.
According to our most recent data, the IEU ETF had $811.69 million of money invested. With IEU’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 International 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 IEU ETF is 0.60%. The issuer, iShares, collects this fee automatically.
Meaning, if you invested $2,000 in the IEU ETF for a full year you could expect to pay management fees of around $12.00. 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 0.51%, which is $10.20 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 IEU 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 IEU ETF by clicking here?
What does the VanEck QUAL ETF do?
The VanEck QUAL ETF gives investors exposure to large companies from developed countries around the world, excluding Australia.
With our numbers for July 2021, QUAL’s FUM stood at $2263.67 million. Since the QUAL’s FUM is over $100 million, our investing team would say the ETF has met our minimum criteria for the total amount invested, otherwise known as FUM. A very sustainable ETF in the Quality factor sector should be able to scale well and become profitable for the ETF issuer.
Are the fees for the QUAL ETF bad?
VanEck, the ETF issuer, charges a yearly management fee of 0.40% for the QUAL ETF. Meaning, if you invested $2,000 for a full 12-month period you could expect to pay a base management fee of around $8.00.
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 QUAL ETF, you should know that you can access our free investment report.
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