Vanguard has announced the expense ratio for the Vanguard All-World Ex-US Shares Index ETF (VEU) has declined from 0.22 per cent p.a. to 0.18 per cent p.a*.
Keeping investment costs low for investors is at the heart of Vanguard’s investment philosophy. This fee reduction is a function of the way Vanguard’s US domiciled funds operate – when funds experience greater efficiencies (either through asset growth, operating cost reductions, or a combination of both) the savings are delivered to the fund investors in the form of lower expenses.
VEU is a cross-listed ETF. Cross-listed ETFs make it possible for Australian investors to access funds which they may not normally have access to on overseas share markets by cross-listing the fund on the local exchange. It is priced in local currency (e.g. Australian dollars) and sold (in Australia) as CHESS Depository Interests (CDIs).
VEU began trading on the Australian Securities Exchange in May 2009 and in the US in March 2007. The total size of this ETF was AUD$5.7bn as at 31 December 2011.
VEU tracks the FTSE All-World ex US Index which includes 2270 stocks of companies located in 46 countries, including both the developed and emerging markets.
Vanguard also offers a range of Australian equity and property ETFs.
*Management costs are expressed as a percentage of the average net assets of ETFs. As the value of these assets may change over time, the actual management costs for a period may be higher or lower than the costs published in the prospectus.
