Alex Vynokur

BetaShares, a leading Australian ETF manager, has made investing in Australian equities significantly cheaper and easier for all investors, announcing it will launch the world’s lowest cost Australian shares ETF^[1], the BetaShares Australia 200 ETF, which will trade on the ASX under the code: A200.

A200 will give investors exposure to 200 of the largest companies listed on the ASX by market capitalisation in a single trade, with management costs of only 0.07% p.a^[2].

At the time of writing, A200’s management costs are half that of the current lowest-fee Australian shares ETF available on the ASX, whose management costs are 0.14% p.a.

The fund was unveiled at an event in Sydney last night to celebrate BetaShares exceeding a significant milestone of $5 billion in assets under management.

A200 is expected to commence trading on the ASX later this month^[3].

Commenting on the launch, BetaShares’ Chief Executive Officer, Alex Vynokur, said A200 will provide investors with a core, low cost exposure to Australian shares.

“A200 is a game-changer for the Australian wealth management industry, significantly reducing the cost of investing in a diversified portfolio of Australian shares.

“BetaShares is a business that was born and bred in Australia.  We remain focussed on the development and growth of the local ETF market, helping Australians build robust, diversified and cost-effective investment portfolios.

“We are experiencing significant growth in demand from retail investors, institutional investors and financial advisers for cost effective investment solutions across a range of asset classes and strategies.

“While product innovation in the Australian ETF market has delivered a broad choice of investment options available on the ASX and put the Australian ETF industry on a strong growth trajectory, we believe that greater availability of simple, low cost portfolio building blocks will help drive the next wave of ETF industry growth.

“A200 will significantly reduce the cost of ownership of a diversified portfolio of Australian shares, making it an attractive solution for both institutional and retail investors,” added Mr Vynokur.

Australian Equities ETFs still growing strongly

The Australian ETF industry is growing at a rapid pace, with funds under management (FUM), hitting a record high of $36.9 billion at the end of February of this year.

Australian equities is consistently one of the categories that receives the largest inflows, receiving $2.6B of inflows in 2017, for example.

The A200 ETF will be BetaShares’ 45th fund available on the ASX.

[1] Source: Bloomberg ETF <GO>; ETFdb (Class: Equity, Region: Australia) for Australian shares ETFs traded overseas, and ASX for Australian shares ETFs traded in Australia.
[2] Management costs comprise the management fee, which is inclusive of other ongoing expenses of the Fund excluding transactions costs of buying and selling the Fund’s investments.
[3] Subject to final regulatory approval.

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