Daniel Shrimski
Australian investors channelled a record $51.8 billion into ASX-listed exchange traded funds (ETFs) last year – a 48% increase on the previous ETF inflows record of $34.9 billion set in 2024.
The record 2025 inflows, combined with strong returns on global equities and bond markets, saw the Australian ETF industry’s total assets under management surge by $82.5 billion (34.5%) to $321.6 billion at 31 December 2025 from the $239 billion level at the end of 2024.
Vanguard remained Australia’s largest ETFs assets manager after attracting a record $16 billion (31%) of total Australian investor inflows. As at 31 December 2025 Vanguard was managing $89.6 billion in ETF investors’ assets, and since the start of 2026 this has increased to more than $90 billion.
The Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (VAS) also remained Australia’s largest ETF product. VAS attracted more than $3 billion in investor inflows over 2025, with its assets under management rising to over $22.5 billion. Meanwhile, the Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares Index ETF (VGS) remained Australia’s second-largest ETF product. VGS attracted more than $2.6 billion in investor inflows, which helped to lift its assets under management to over $14 billion.
“The Australian ETFs industry had an incredible year, with investors’ inflows and the industry’s assets under management reaching new heights,” said Daniel Shrimski, Managing Director, Vanguard Investments Australia. “At the end of 2023, when industry assets were around $170 billion, we were talking about when industry assets would exceed $200 billion.
“They did in 2024, and by the end of 2025 they had exceeded $300 billion. So, in just over the last two years alone, the size of the Australian industry has almost doubled. That’s testament to the huge increase in the number of Australians now using ETFs as the core of their investment portfolio.
“Vanguard’s expectations are that the Australian ETFs industry will remain on a strong growth trajectory as more Australians discover their benefits and as more low-cost index-tracking ETF products offering a greater choice of investment strategies are listed on the ASX,” Mr. Shrimski said.
International equity products continued to attract the largest share of investor inflows, with a record $19.9 billion being added over 2025. Australian equity ETFs remained the second-largest assets segment, with investors adding $13.3 billion.
Separately, investors continued to direct record levels of capital into Australian fixed income securities. Around $8.4 billion was added into this segment over 2025.
“2025 was another milestone year for the Australian ETFs industry, and in a highly competitive market Vanguard remains focused on taking a stand for all investors, treating them fairly, and giving them the best chance for investment success,” Mr. Shrimski added.
“We are achieving that by providing investors with ETF products that have been designed to offer a broad range of investment solutions that are available directly to retail investors on the ASX and increasingly via third-party investing platforms and financial advisers.”