Australian ETF provider BetaShares has launched the BetaShares Australia 200 ETF (A200 AU) on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX).
BetaShares has launched Australia’s cheapest ETF.
A200 tracks the Solactive Australia 200 Index, which provides exposure to 200 of the largest companies listed on ASX, weighted by free-float market capitalisation.
The index employs a “25 buffer” rebalancing methodology, whereby new companies are only added to the index if they rank within the top 175 companies by market cap on the most recent quarterly index selection day.
Conversely, companies are only removed from the index if they have a market cap that is lower than the 225th-ranked company on the most recent selection day.
The ETF is heavily concentrated in financials (33.7%), with materials (18.6%) also carrying a significant weight. Healthcare, real estate, consumer staples and industrials are the next sectors in line—each with weights of around 7%.
Big banks make up four of the top five individual holdings, which are Commonwealth Bank of Australia (7.9%), BHP Billiton (6.3%), Westpac Banking Corp (6.2%), Australia & New Zealand Banking Group (5.0%) and National Australia Bank (4.9%).
The fund currently has assets under management of around AUD48 million and trades in Australian dollars. It is currently the lowest cost Australian Shares ETF on offer with a total expense ratio of just 0.07%.
For UK/European investors seeking exposure to Australia, options include the iShares MSCI Australia UCITS ETF USD (IAUS LN) and the Xtrackers S&P ASX 200 UCITS ETF (XAUS LN). Both ETFs come with a TER of 0.50%. Of the two funds, IAUS is the larger, with around £300m in AUM. XAUS trades has AUM of roughly £120m.