Vanguard debuts new S&P 500 funds on ASX

Binaya Dahal

Journalist

5 March 2026

Vanguard yesterday unveiled three new S&P 500 Index funds in Australia, a move the $17.6 trillion asset manager claims will provide simple, low‑cost and trusted access for local investors to one of the world’s largest and influential markets – US equities.

The firm said two of the three newly launched S&P 500 Index funds were exchange traded funds (ETF) and both started trading on the Australian Securities Exchange from Tuesday.

Among the listed funds were Vanguard S&P 500 US Shares Index ETF (V500) that provides unhedged exposure, and the Vanguard S&P 500 US Shares Index ETF (V5AH) which offers currency-hedged exposure.

As per the firm, the one unlisted fund was targeted to clients who prefer a managed fund structure over ETFs, and it can be accessed via the Vanguard Personal Investor platform.

Asia‑Pacific Head of Investment Management for Vanguard Capital Markets, Duncan Burns said the locally domiciled funds provide Australian investors with efficient access to the flagship US stock market index.

“These new Australian‑based S&P 500 funds offer investors a straightforward, low-cost entry point to the world’s largest economy,” he 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.”

He said the firm was giving investors greater choice in how they access that exposure in a way that suits their goals and preferences by offering both hedged and unhedged options, as well as ETF and unlisted fund structures.

Vanguard has confirmed V500 has a management fee of 0.07% a year, while the hedged V5AH will charge 0.09%. The unlisted managed fund will carry a price of 0.16%.

Head of U.S. Equities at S&P Dow Jones Indices, Hamish Preston said the benchmarking firm was delighted to license the S&P 500 to Vanguard for its new series of index funds.

“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,” he said.