Vanguard unveils new S&P 500® ETFs and managed fund for Australian investors
Duncan Burns
Vanguard has expanded Australian investors’ access to the world’s largest and most influential equity market, unveiling a new suite of S&P 500® Index funds that provide simple, low‑cost and trusted access to the innovation and long‑term growth of the U.S. economy.
The S&P 500® is recognised as the leading benchmark for large cap U.S. equities, capturing 500 of the country’s largest and most successful listed companies, including tech leaders like Nvidia, Apple and Amazon and major household names like Walmart, JPMorgan Chase and Johnson & Johnson.
Duncan Burns, Asia‑Pacific Head of Investment Management for Vanguard Capital Markets, said the locally domiciled funds give Australian investors an efficient way to access the flagship U.S. stock market index through one of the world’s most trusted investment managers.
“These new Australian‑based S&P 500® funds offer investors a straightforward, low-cost entry point to the world’s largest economy,” Mr Burns said.
“An S&P 500® allocation can also serve as a tactical satellite position within a broadly diversified portfolio, offering targeted exposure to the U.S. stock market.”
Vanguard will launch three options to give investors choice in how they invest in the S&P 500®:
- Vanguard S&P 500 US Shares Index ETF (ASX: V500) — an unhedged ETF.
- Vanguard S&P 500 US Shares Index (Hedged) ETF (ASX: V5AH) — a currency-hedged ETF designed to reduce the impact of foreign exchange movements on returns for Australian investors.
- Vanguard S&P 500 US Shares Index Fund (unlisted) — for investors who prefer to invest through an unlisted fund structure.
“By offering both hedged and unhedged options, as well as ETF and unlisted fund structures, we’re giving investors greater choice in how they access that exposure in a way that suits their goals and preferences,” Mr Burns said.
Hamish Preston, Head of U.S. Equities at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said: “S&P Dow Jones Indices is delighted to license the S&P 500® to Vanguard for its new series of index funds, offering Australian market participants direct exposure to the U.S. equity market.”
“For more than six decades, the S&P 500® has been the premier benchmark for large-cap U.S. equities. S&P DJI’s licensing relationship with Vanguard adds to the S&P 500®’s substantial ecosystem and it provides investors with more ways to gain exposure to U.S. equities.”
V500 and V5AH have management fees of 0.07% p.a. and 0.09% p.a. respectively, while the unlisted managed fund has a management fee of 0.16% p.a.
The ETFs will be available for purchase on the ASX from March 4, while the unlisted managed fund can be accessed via Vanguard’s Personal Investor platform.
Vanguard continues to cement its position as Australia’s largest ETF manager with more than $90 billion of ETF funds under management in the country as at 31 January 2026.
“Our founder Jack Bogle launched the world’s first S&P 500® index fund for retail investors 50 years ago. That same philosophy of broad, low-cost market access underpins the products we’re bringing to Australian investors today,” Mr Burns said.
