Daniel Shrimski
Vanguard Australia, Australia’s leading provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), had a record-breaking month in April as investors continued to embrace low-cost index investing.
During April’s market turbulence, Vanguard Australia saw $1.8 billion of net investor inflows to its ETF products, its highest month on record, according to data released by the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).[1]
“Importantly, while markets were volatile in April, most Vanguard Australia investors stayed the course and didn’t panic. Instead, they kept their money in the market or added to their portfolios,” said Vanguard Investments Australia Managing Director Daniel Shrimski.
The ASX data showed Vanguard remained Australia’s number one provider of ETFs, with net investor inflows of $5.4 billion since the start of the year, the highest of any Australian ETF manager.
The Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (VAS), Australia’s largest ETF with $19.2 billion in assets under management at the end of April, attracted $563.6 million of net inflows last month.
Meanwhile, the Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (VGS) — Australia’s second largest ETF with $10.5 billion in assets under management as of 30 April — had net inflows of $269.4 million.
It’s the second consecutive month of record-breaking ETF inflows for Vanguard. In March, Vanguard’s ETFs saw net inflows of $1.5 billion — the highest monthly inflow prior to April.
Mr Shrimski said investors of all ages were increasingly looking to Vanguard’s index-tracking investment products to build wealth or work towards their financial goals.
“We’ve had a very strong start to the year, and we’re proud that Australians are continuing to embrace Vanguard’s investing philosophy with our low-cost ETFs, managed funds and superannuation,” he said.
During April’s most turbulent week, Vanguard’s Personal Investor platform saw double the typical number of account openings as investors looked to grow their portfolios or begin investing for the first time.
The record month comes as the Vanguard Group, the pioneer of index investing, celebrates its 50th anniversary in May.
“In 1975, our founder Jack Bogle started a new kind of investment firm that put investors first and made simple, low-cost investing accessible to everyone,” Mr Shrimski said.
“Vanguard has been in Australia since 1996, and we launched our first index-tracking managed fund for Australian retail investors in 1998.
“With our ETFs, and now with Vanguard Super, we’re proud to continue Jack Bogle’s legacy by making investing simpler, more accessible and more affordable for Australians.”
Mr Shrimski added that Vanguard now has over 2 million Australians invested in managed funds, ETFs, and Vanguard Super, in addition to being a trusted partner to financial advisers and their clients.
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