Betashares launches Global Shares ETFs

Oksana Patron

9 May 2023

Betashares has announced it will launch in the coming weeks its new Global (ex-Australia) Shares ETFs (exchange-traded funds), the Betashares Global Shares ETF (BGBL), and its currency hedged equivalent, the Betashares Global Shares Currency Hedged ETF (HGBL).

The new funds will offer a low-cost exposure to approximately 1,500 global companies, excluding Australia, in a single trade on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), with management fees of 0.08% per annum (BGBL) and 0.11% p.a (HGBL).

According to Morningstar’s data, local ETFs providing exposure to global equities received inflows of over $4.5 billion, while over the same period unlisted funds providing the same exposure had outflows of over $5.4 billion.

At the same time, recent research from the Betashares and Investment Trends 2022 ETF Report found that 32% of Australian investors were using ETFs as the core of their portfolio, which was up from 4% in 2019.

“Over the last decade we’ve carefully built a diverse offering of innovative and complementary investment strategies to assist investors and their advisers to build better portfolios,” Betashares chief executive, Alex Vynokur, said.

“The upcoming launch of our new Global Shares ETFs represent a thoughtful addition to our range of core exposures and demonstrates our commitment to maintaining our position as the home of ETFs in Australia.”

The firm said the launch of its two new funds would also complement the Betashares’ range of innovative ETFs which already includes the NASDAQ 100 ETF (NDQ), Global Sustainability Leaders ETF (ETHI), Global Quality Leaders ETF (QLTY), Australia 200 ETF (A200), Australian Composite Bond ETF (OZBD) and the High Interest Cash ETF (AAA).