Are the VLC and AUST ETFs worth watching in May?

The Vanguard MSCI Australian Large Companies Index ETF (ASX:VLC)

The Vanguard VLC ETF provides exposure to the MSCI Australian Shares Large Cap Index. This index is a ‘free float-adjusted market capitalization index’ which provides investors with exposure to the largest companies on the ASX.

According to our most recent data, the VLC ETF had $158.79 million of money invested. With VLC’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.

To learn more about the VLC ETF, read our free ETF investment report once you’re done with this article.

BetaShares Managed Risk Australian Share Fund (Managed Fund) ETF (ASX:AUST)

The BetaShares AUST Fund is an actively managed fund that passively tracks the ASX 200, while providing investors with a risk managed approach that aims to minimise volatility and protect against losses in declining markets.

With our numbers for July 2022, AUST’s FUM stood at $37.92 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 Active ETF (e.g. ETMF) sector ETFs, using our full list of ETFs.

A look at the AUST ETF fee load?

BetaShares, the ETF issuer, charges a yearly management fee of 0.49% for the AUST ETF. Meaning, if you invest $2,000 for a full year from now you can expect to pay a management fee of around $9.80.

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.

Did you know that you get access to our free investment report on Best ETFs Australia? View the free AUST ETF report by clicking here.