You might be sitting back and considering the Vanguard FTSE Asia Ex-Japan Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAE) and thinking that January could be as good of a time as any to take closer look. Here’s how we would start our research.
Find out what the ETF does
The Vanguard VAE ETF provides exposure to a portfolio of companies listed in Asia, excluding Japan, Australia and New Zealand. As the ETF is not hedged, investors are also exposed to currency fluctuations.
VAE’s FUM meets our hurdle
The Vanguard VAE ETF had $234.69 million of money invested when we last pulled the monthly numbers. Given VAE’s total funds under management (FUM) figure is over $100 million, the ETF has met our minimum criteria for the total amount of money invested, otherwise known as FUM. We draw the line at $100 million for ETFs in the International shares sector because we believe that relative to smaller ETFs, achieving this amount of FUM de-risks the ETF.
Pay attention to yearly costs & fees
Vanguard charges investors a yearly management fee of 0.4% for the VAE ETF. This means that if you invested $2,000 in VAE for a full year, you could expect to pay management fees of around $8.00.
For context, the average management fee (MER) of all ETFs covered by Best ETFs Australia on our complete list of ASX ETFs is 0.5% or around $10.00 per $2,000 invested. Keep in mind, small changes in fees can make a big difference after 10 or 20 years.
Our takeaway
If you’re thinking about investing in VAE, bear in mind that this is just an introductory glance at the ETF. To explore further, check out our free Vanguard VAE report. And for good measure, search our complete list of ASX ETFs for similar ETFs in the International shares sector to do a good comparison.
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