Last updated: 06th Feb 2025
‘Best’ is clearly impossible to define in the context of investing, because no one knows how markets will perform and what 2025 will throw at us, with Trump at the helm of the world’s largest economy, and bubbling geopolitical tensions globally.
But there are basic tenets of investing you can follow.
Below, we present data about high-performing ETFs to give you a starting point for uncovering the best ETFs for your needs.
Get The Lowest Fees On Australian ETFs.
Interactive Brokers is one of the cheapest ETF brokerages in Australia. You can buy ASX ETFs for only $5.5 per trade. Click for a great rate:
Why Choose An Exchange-Traded Fund?
An exchange-traded fund is simply a collection of stocks or other assets that are managed for you by an investment firm.
You can buy and sell units of an ETF anytime via the stock exchange in the same way you trade stocks — that liquidity is a key difference between ETFs and unlisted managed funds.
There are a multitude of ETFs available to trade on the ASX:
- For Australian stocks, the most popular ETFs include ones that represent the broader market or ones focused on a specific industry sector. Another option is funds that pursue a particular strategy, such as delivering high dividend yields.
- For international stocks, again, they commonly aim to capture a broad market or index, but there are also plenty of niche ETFs to choose from that focus on a particular industry vertical, like healthcare or clean energy. Additionally, you can find strategy-based global ETFs.
Important!
Some of the biggest ETFs (by assets under management) in Australia are passively managed, which means they simply mirror the composition of an index like the ASX 200. This makes them transparent (you know what’s included) and enables comparatively low management fees.
The popularity of ETFs in Australia has increased 20-fold over the last decade.
The domestic ETF market reached $200 billion in funds under management in 2024 — a 36% increase on the prior year.
ASX’s Graham O’Brien said:
Are ETFs Better Value Than Stock Picking?
ETFs offer a beautifully simple and convenient way to diversify your assets without having to pick and monitor individual stocks.
Plenty of Aussie investors build a portfolio of just two to three ETFs, ultimately giving them exposure to 100s of different assets across different markets and sectors.
Stock picking not only requires picking correctly, but also knowing when to buy in and when to sell to ensure profits.
Did You Know?
The US-focused S&P 500 rose more than 22% in 2024 but its average annual return is around 10% — outsized gains in a small concentration of tech stocks accounted for most of the index’s jump in value.
US personal finance expert Suze Orman is a proponent of dollar-cost-averaging into index ETFs.
She warns that buying individual stocks requires “serious guidance” if you’re not experienced.
Smart investors also aim to minimise costs that undermine their profits.
Holding units in an index ETF with low management fees is often cheaper than a managed fund or trading multiple stocks directly.
Important!
Unlisted managed funds tend to attract higher fees because they’re often actively managed by a professional, with a regularly changing composition. The allure is potentially higher yields, but you also need to factor in the capital gains tax implications from when the fund trades.
Best Performing ETFs In Australia.
Short-term performance in ETFs can be misleading.
Especially when markets have been going gangbusters due to factors beyond the inherent value of the companies or assets involved.
For example, Morningstar data shows:
- Some of the highest 1-year gainers in 2023 held Nasdaq, tech stock and AI-focused equities.
- The ETF that lifted in value the most in 2024 was unpinned by Bitcoin holdings (130+% gain).
A number of ETFs with exceptional returns have only been created within the last 1-3 years, and it’s unclear how they’ll weather the test of time as technologies evolve.
For instance, the Betashares Crypto Innovators ETF (CRYP), which returned 52.95% in 2024, or the Global X FANG ETF with a 1-year return of 61.02%.
Historically, the broader Australian share market achieves positive annual returns more often than not.
To create the tables below, I researched Australia’s best-performing ETFs.
I prioritised funds with diverse holdings, low fees, and a history of 10+ years. My goal was to find the top performers objectively.
Important!
The content below is for informational purposes only. You should not construe it as financial advice, recommendation of any financial asset, an endorsement or intent to influence.
Best Australian Shares Broad Market ETFs.
Since its inception 16 years ago, the average annual return from Australia’s biggest ETF — VAS — has been 9.15%.
| ETF | AUM (AU$) | 5-Year Return (p.a.) | 10 Year Return (p.a.) | No of Holdings | Management Fee (p.a.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanguard Australian Shares ETF (VAS) | $17.87B | 7.99% | 8.46% | 305 | 0.07% |
| SPDR® S&P/ASX 200 ETF (STW) | $5.66B | 7.99% | 8.36% | 200 | 0.05% |
| iShares Core S&P/ASX 200 ETF (IOZ) | $6.77B | 7.97% | 8.34% | 200 | 0.05% |
| Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF (VHY) | $4.36B | 9.86% | 7.62% | 68 | 0.25% |
| Betashares Australia 200 ETF (A200) | $6.86B | 8.20% | – | 200 | 0.04% |
| VanEck Australian Equal Weight ETF (MVW) | $2.64B | 7.36% | 9.29% | 73 | 0.35% |
Interactive Brokers is one of the cheapest ETF brokerages in Australia. You can buy ASX ETFs for only $5.5 per trade. Click for a great rate:
Best Sector-Based And Thematic ASX ETFs.
Resource/minerals-focused ETFs are subject to volatility due to commodity prices but have done extremely well in previous boom periods.
| ETF | 5-Year Return (p.a.) | 10-Year Return (p.a.) | No of Holdings | Management Fee (p.a.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VanEck Australian Resources ETF (MVR) | 5.87% | 9.97% | 31 | 0.35% |
| VanEck Australian Banks ETF (MVB) | 13.41% | 9.18% | 7 | 0.28% |
| Vanguard Australian Property Securities Index ETF (VAP) | 5.86% | 8.45% | 36 | 0.23% |
| iShares Global Consumer Staples ETF (IXI) | 6.48% | 8.21% | 119 | 0.41% |
| iShares Global Healthcare ETF (IXJ) | 5.93% | 7.30% | 128 | 0.41% |
| Global X Battery Tech & Lithium ETF (ACDC) | 14.80% | – | 34 | 0.69% |
Interactive Brokers is one of the cheapest ETF brokerages in Australia. You can buy ASX ETFs for only $5.5 per trade. Click for a great rate:
Best International Broad-Based ETFs.
Several international broad market ETFs saw 1-year returns of over 30% in 2024. The ones below have averaged returns of between 10-16% since inception.
| ETF | 5-Year Return (p.a.) | 10-Year Return (p.a.) | No of Holdings | Management Fee (p.a.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VanEck Msci International Quality ETF (QUAL) | 16.16% | 15.62% | 302 | 0.40% |
| iShares Global 100 ETF (100) | 15.09% | 12.46% | 100 | 0.40% |
| Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (VGS) | 14.20% | 13.25% | 1400 | 0.18% |
Interactive Brokers is one of the cheapest ETF brokerages in Australia. You can buy US ETFs from only $0.0035 per trade. Click for a great rate:
Best US Tech & Finance Stock ETFs On The ASX.
If you’re keen on investing in big tech, the NDQ ETF gives you exposure to the mega caps that make up the Nasdaq index.
Its average annual return since inception in 2015 is over 20%.
| ETF | 5-Year Return (p.a.) | 10-Year Return (p.a.) | No of Holdings | Management Fee (p.a.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) | 14.49% | 13.06% | 508 | 0.03% |
| SPDR® S&P 500 ETF (SPY) | 17.32% | 16.15% | 500 | 0.0945% |
| Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (NDQ) | 22.52% | – | 100 | 0.48% |
| Betashares S&P 500 Yield Maximiser Fund (UMAX) | 12.30% | 11.69 | 500 | 0.79% |
Interactive Brokers is one of the cheapest ETF brokerages in Australia. You can buy US ETFs from only $0.0035 per trade. Click for a great rate:
How Safe Are ETFs As An Investment?
No single asset type is without downsides.
That’s why diversification is the friend of any sensible investor — spread your risk, limit your losses from any one asset type.
Did you know?
Inflation erodes the value of cash, reducing its purchasing power over time. If you had $100,000 sitting in your bank account at the start of the pandemic in 2020, it would be worth an equivalent of $80,193 by the start of 2025.
Of course, it depends on how much money you can afford to invest (and possibly lose).
Investing guru Warren Buffet once called cash equivalent assets “a terrible long-term asset” that “is certain to depreciate in value.”
But his company, Berkshire Hathaway, has recently increased its cash reserves to $325.2b.
Buffet said it was in preparation because “As the world gets more sophisticated, complicated and intertwined, more can go wrong.”
If you have a long investing timeline, choosing broad-market index ETFs that expose you to a diverse mix of high-quality, high-value companies is not considered high risk, even if a market correction is on the way.
History has shown us that over long stretches of time, stock markets lift in value, even if some years are in the negative.
Narrow Down Your Best ETF Options.
Remember that not all ETFs are created equal.
An ETF structured for success in conditions experienced in one year could just as easily underperform within the next year as political, social and economic forces shift.
What investments are best for you will also depend on your attitudes towards risk and things like ethical considerations. For instance:
- Not everyone wants to profit by investing in companies owned by tech-bro megalomaniacs like Musk, Bezos and Zuck.
- Not everyone can afford to risk significant losses by investing in funds with more aggressive strategies or holding volatile assets like crypto.
It’s important to do your own research and it’s advisable to seek professional investment advice before you choose the best ETFs for you and commit your hard-earned cash.
Jody
Nelson says:
I attempted to use the “hack” to dodge conversion fees, but sadly after converting AUD to USD on a Wise account, there doesn’t seem to be a way to deposit that money into eToro; i.e. eToro recently disabled Wire transfers and Wise doesn’t support SWIFT transfers for sending USD to a bank in the US?
John Keys says:
CMC Invest are an abysmal in turning around new accounts.
Over 1 month to setup up an account with an investment trust, and still waiting. I was promised 5 business days.
Reg Watson says:
Given that China’s economy is going down the toilet how the heck do we expect an appreciation of the Aussie in 2024 ? We are tied to China.
Regular citizen says:
Unless you can see into the future or time travel, try to refrain from predicting a stronger AUD. It’s now Dec 2025 and contrary to all you top earning ‘economists ‘, the AUD ain’t shit.