What does the WVOL ETF do for a diversified portfolio?
The iShares WVOL ETF provides exposure to the performance of developed share markets that, on the whole, have lower volatility characteristics relative to the broader global developed share markets.
Investors could use WVOL to obtain diversified exposure to a broad basket of global stocks with potentially less risk. Minimum volatility strategies implemented by the underlying index of this ETF aim to lose less than the broad market during downturns.
How big is the iShares WVOL ETF?
The iShares WVOL ETF had $231.91 million of money invested when we last pulled the monthly numbers. Given WVOL’s total funds under management (FUM) figure is over $100 million, the ETF has met our minimum criteria for the total amount of money invested, otherwise known as FUM. We draw 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 de-risks the ETF.
WVOL ETF fees reviewed
iShares charges investors a yearly management fee of 0.30% for the WVOL ETF. This means that if you invested $2,000 in WVOL for a full year, you could expect to pay management fees of around $6.00.
For context, the average management fee (MER) of all ETFs covered by Best ETFs Australia on our complete list of ASX ETFs is 0.51% or around $10.20 per $2,000 invested. Keep in mind, small changes in fees can make a big difference after 10 or 20 years.
Next steps
Even if you like what you see, before diving straight into buying the WVOL ETF, please read the ETF’s Product Disclosure Statement (PDS). Also, be sure to take a look at our iShares WVOL report for a more comprehensive overview of this ETF. While you’re on our website, use our complete list of ASX ETFs to search for a few different ETFs in the sector and conduct a side-by-side comparison using everything you’ve learned here.
