The Vanguard Diversified Growth Index ETF (ASX:VDGR)
The Vanguard VDGR ETF provides investors with exposure to a portfolio of other Vanguard funds. This ETF gives investors exposure to multiple asset classes with a single purchase, and is designed to be a diversified portfolio in itself.
According to our most recent data, the VDGR ETF had $615.22 million of money invested. With VDGR’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 Diversified ETF 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 VDGR ETF is .27%. The issuer, Vanguard, collects this fee automatically.
Meaning, if you invested $2,000 in the VDGR ETF for a full year you could expect to pay management fees of around $5.40. 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 VDGR Product Disclosure Statement (PDS), available on the ETF issuer’s website, because it will detail the fees, tax implications and the latest information.
These are high level ideas or basics of the VDGR ETF. To learn more about it, click through to access our free investment review.
The SPDR S&P/ASX 200 ESG Fund (ASX:E200)
The SPDR ASX 200 ESG ETF provides investors with exposure to the largest 200 Australian/ASX-listed companies while also being tilted towards companies which exhibit strong Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) characteristics — and E200 excludes companies in tobacoo and controversial weapons and those which earn more than 5% of their revenue from thermal coal.
With our numbers for July 2022, E200’s FUM stood at $34.96 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 Ethical sector ETFs, using our full list of ETFs.
A look at the E200 ETF fee load?
SPDR, the ETF issuer, charges a yearly management fee of 0.13% for the E200 ETF. Meaning, if you invest $2,000 for a full year from now you can expect to pay a management fee of around $2.60.
This management fee is below the average for all ETFs on our Best ETFs Australia list of ETFs. However, you might still be able to find a cheaper ETF for less.
Before you read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) or speak to your financial adviser about the E200 ETF report (both are very important), take a look at our free investment review.
