Global share ETFs and U.S. share ETFs remain popular with individual investors and SMSFs in Australia looking to diversify beyond the local share market.
Almost $200 billion is invested in ETFs tracking global shares on the ASX in Australia, representing more than half of the Australian ETF market.
Many of the largest and most popular international share ETFs track either a broad global index or the U.S. share market, giving Australian investors exposure to many of the world’s largest companies.
Following the success of our ETF Report, we compare 12 popular global share ETFs, comparing them across 5 factors before picking our favourites, so you don’t have to.
What is the best global ETF on the ASX?
There isn’t one global ETF that is best for every investor. The right choice depends on the exposure you want, fees, diversification, currency hedging and how the ETF fits with the rest of your portfolio.
For Stockspot clients, we continue to favour the iShares S&P Global 100 ETF (IOO) as our core global shares exposure. VGS offers broader international diversification at a lower management fee, while IVV provides dedicated U.S. exposure and VEU provides international exposure excluding the U.S. We compare these options in more detail below.
What are ETFs?
Exchange Traded Funds, or ETFs for short, track a market index rather than taking bets on individual companies.
Index ETFs generally have lower portfolio turnover and lower management fees than traditional active fund managers, while also offering transparency and potential tax-efficiency benefits.
ETF investors directly benefit from share capital gains, dividends and franking credits paid by shares contained within an ETF.
The majority of funds compared in this article are index ETFs however V1AC and MHG are actively managed funds (sitting inside an ETF-like listed structure), so investors should consider their higher fees and different investment approaches when making comparisons.
The fund previously trading as MGOC has transitioned to the Vinva Global Alpha Fund – Active ETF (ASX: V1AC). We have retained it in this comparison under its new name and ticker. We have included the Magellan fund MHG and V1AC because of their size and popularity, however investors should understand that this is an actively managed fund. We will explain further the difference between active and index investing.
Size
| ASX code | ETF name | Size ($B) |
| IOO | iShares S&P Global 100 ETF | 5.7 |
| IHOO | iShares S&P Global 100 ETF (AUD Hedged) | 0.9 |
| IVV | iShares S&P 500 ETF | 14.3 |
| IHVV | iShares S&P 500 ETF (AUD Hedged) | 4.1 |
| V1AC | Vinva Global Alpha Fund – Active ETF | 4.3 |
| MHG | Magellan Global Equities Fund (Managed Fund) (AUD Hedged) | 0.1 |
| VGS | Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF | 17.3 |
| VGAD | Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (Hedged) | 7.3 |
| WXOZ | SPDR S&P World ex Australian Fund | 0.8 |
| WXHG | SPDR S&P World ex Australian Fund (Hedged) | 0.4 |
| VEU | Vanguard All-World ex US Shares Index ETF | 6.2 |
| VTS | Vanguard US Total Market Shares Index ETF | 7.0 |
^ Magellan Global Fund merged its original listed funds (MGE and MGG) with its unlisted managed fund to form a new structure (MGOC). The Magellan Global Fund – Open Class Units (ASX: MGOC) underwent a major corporate transition in June 2026, shifting its underlying investment strategy to the Vinva Global Alpha Strategy while Magellan Asset Management remained the responsible entity. Effective 5 June 2026, the fund transitioned and was rebranded into the Vinva Global Alpha Fund (which trades under the new ticker symbol ASX: V1AC).
There are 8 global share ETFs with over $1 billion under management (IOO, IVV, V1AC, VGS, VGAD, IHVV, VEU and VTS).
This follows a reversal from late 2024 when the S&P 500 ETF (IVV) overtook VGS. Subsequently IVV’s FUM fell from around $13.1 billion in December 2025 to $11.7 billion by March 2026 amid notable outflows, however has begun to recover by Q2 2026.
While the U.S. share market has outperformed other global markets over the past five years, Q1 2026 data suggests some moderation in investor demand for U.S.-focused exposure.
Market volatility as a result of President Trump’s tariffs and conflict between American and Iran may impact the sector’s performance in the short term.
Market and currency movements can have a significant impact on international ETF returns, particularly when comparing hedged and unhedged funds.
Both hedged and unhedged global ETFs have grown in size. Among the hedged funds in this comparison, VGAD increased to around $7.3 billion, IHVV to $4.1 billion and IHOO to $0.9 billion. Currency-hedged ETFs aim to reduce the impact of movements in the Australian dollar on overseas investment returns, although they do not remove share-market risk.
Taken collectively, the 12 funds in this comparison now hold approximately $68 billion, highlighting the scale of global and international ETF investing on the ASX.
For Stockspot Portfolios, we have invested our clients into the S&P Global 100 ETF (IOO). Our clients also have the option to add the S&P 500 ETF (IVV) for extra US shares or the All-World Ex-US ETF (VEU) for extra non-US shares as part of Stockspot Themes.
Click here to learn more about Stockspot Themes and our specific global ETF bundles.
Costs
| ASX code | ETF name | MER (% p.a.) |
| IOO | iShares S&P Global 100 ETF | 0.40% |
| IHOO | iShares S&P Global 100 ETF (AUD Hedged) | 0.43% |
| IVV | iShares S&P 500 ETF | 0.04% |
| IHVV | iShares S&P 500 ETF (AUD Hedged) | 0.10% |
| V1AC | Vinva Global Alpha Fund – Active ETF | 1.35% |
| MHG | Magellan Global Equities Fund (Managed Fund) (AUD Hedged) | 1.35% |
| VGS | Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF | 0.18% |
| VGAD | Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (Hedged) | 0.21% |
| WXOZ | SPDR S&P World ex Australian Fund | 0.07% |
| WXHG | SPDR S&P World ex Australian Fund (Hedged) | 0.10% |
| VEU | Vanguard All-World ex US Shares Index ETF | 0.04% |
| VTS | Vanguard US Total Market Shares Index ETF | 0.03% |
Management fees for this group of ETFs varies widely, from 0.03% for the Vanguard VTS to 1.36% for MHG and V1AC.
Pricing for index funds has been driven by competition, with new ETFs tending to be launched at a lower price than previously listed similar funds to attract new flows and encourage switching.
The Vanguard products will continue to put fee pressure on iShares and SPDR, particularly where similar Vanguard funds exist. In 2025 Vanguard reduced the fee on their VEU ETF from 0.07% to 0.04% to make it the same price as IVV.
IOO remains more expensive than VGS, at 0.40% versus 0.18% p.a., although the three- and five-year performance figures for IOO remain higher after fees.
Slippage
| ASX code | ETF name | % spread |
| IOO | iShares S&P Global 100 ETF | 0.04% |
| IHOO | iShares S&P Global 100 ETF (AUD Hedged) | 0.13% |
| IVV | iShares S&P 500 ETF | 0.02% |
| IHVV | iShares S&P 500 ETF (AUD Hedged) | 0.03% |
| V1AC | Vinva Global Alpha Fund – Active ETF | 0.38% |
| MHG | Magellan Global Equities Fund (Managed Fund) (AUD Hedged) | 0.39% |
| VGS | Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF | 0.02% |
| VGAD | Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (Hedged) | 0.03% |
| WXOZ | SPDR S&P World ex Australian Fund | 0.14% |
| WXHG | SPDR S&P World ex Australian Fund (Hedged) | 0.21% |
| VEU | Vanguard All-World ex US Shares Index ETF | 0.06% |
| VTS | Vanguard US Total Market Shares Index ETF | 0.04% |
Slippage, more properly known as bid/ask spread, is the difference between bidding price and asking price on the market when you buy an ETF. Typically, a seller earns a small percentage on the value of an ETF when selling, and buying it is known as ‘crossing the spread’.
It has more of an impact if you’re trading an ETF or making regular contributions because you’ll need to cross the spread more often to get invested.
Slippage tends to be higher for global shares ETFs when compared to Australian ETFs since many global markets are closed when the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) is open, which leads market makers to keep a wider buffer during local trading hours to manage that risk.
Among the large global products, spreads remain extremely competitive. VGS and IVV are the tightest, with spreads of 0.02%, followed by IHVV and VGAD at 0.03%, and IOO and VTS at 0.04%.
The widest spreads are on the actively managed MHG and V1AC at 0.39% and 0.38% respectively. By comparison, the average Australian Share ETF has a bid/ask spread of 0.05%.
Index ETFs generally have lower slippage than active funds which means investors in index funds aren’t starting as far behind the 8-ball when they invest.
This reinforces why investors should consider management fees and trading spreads together. MHG and V1AC combine higher management fees with wider spreads than low-cost index ETFs such as IVV and VGS, making a material impact for investors wanting access to that market.
Small percentage differences in fees and spreads can compound over time, so cost remains an important factor when comparing international ETFs.
Costs are only one part of the comparison, but lower costs mean a fund has less of a hurdle to overcome before delivering returns to investors.
IVV has also outperformed Magellan significantly and It shows why active funds management as an industry is much more lucrative for the fund managers than the end investors.
It goes a long way to explaining the title that legendary investor Fred Schwed chose when naming his book, one of the most famous ever written on the stock market: ‘Where Are The Customers’ Yachts?’.
Liquidity
| ASX code | ETF name | Daily Transacted Value ($m) |
| IOO | iShares S&P Global 100 ETF | $17.4 |
| IHOO | iShares S&P Global 100 ETF (AUD Hedged) | $5.2 |
| IVV | iShares S&P 500 ETF | $36.0 |
| IHVV | iShares S&P 500 ETF (AUD Hedged) | $14.6 |
| V1AC | Vinva Global Alpha Fund – Active ETF | $5.5 |
| MHG | Magellan Global Equities Fund (Managed Fund) (AUD Hedged) | $0.2 |
| VGS | Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF | $38.3 |
| VGAD | Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (Hedged) | $15.0 |
| WXOZ | SPDR S&P World ex Australian Fund | $0.2 |
| WXHG | SPDR S&P World ex Australian Fund (Hedged) | $0.5 |
| VEU | Vanguard All-World ex US Shares Index ETF | $12.1 |
| VTS | Vanguard US Total Market Shares Index ETF | $9.9 |
Liquidity refers to how easily an ETF can be bought or sold. Here we compare average daily transacted value on the ASX, which provides an indication of trading activity in each fund.
It is worth mentioning that it may not reflect liquidity in the underlying stocks which is typically much deeper for broad global share ETFs.
However, in times of crisis and during ASX trading hours, investors may not be able to rely exclusively on market makers for liquidity so daily volume is a relevant figure. Liquidity closely matches up with ETF size.
Nine of the 12 global share ETFs in this comparison transact more than $1 million per day on average. VGS and IVV lead the group at approximately $38.3 million and $36.0 million respectively.
Returns
| ASX code | ETF name | 3 Year Total Return (p.a.) |
| IOO | iShares S&P Global 100 ETF | 21.4% |
| IHOO | iShares S&P Global 100 ETF (AUD Hedged) | 21.5% |
| IVV | iShares S&P 500 ETF | 19.0% |
| IHVV | iShares S&P 500 ETF (AUD Hedged) | 18.8% |
| V1AC | Vinva Global Alpha Fund – Active ETF | 9.5% |
| MHG | Magellan Global Equities Fund (Managed Fund) (AUD Hedged) | 10.5% |
| VGS | Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF | 18.1% |
| VGAD | Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (Hedged) | 18.8% |
| WXOZ | SPDR S&P World ex Australian Fund | 16.9% |
| WXHG | SPDR S&P World ex Australian Fund (Hedged) | 17.5% |
| VEU | Vanguard All-World ex US Shares Index ETF | 17.8% |
| VTS | Vanguard US Total Market Shares Index ETF | 19.1% |
ETFs with heavier U.S. exposure (IVV, IOO and VTS) continue to sit near the top of the three-year leaderboard. IHOO returned 21.5% p.a. and IOO 21.4% p.a., followed by VTS at 19.1% and IVV at 19.0%.
VEU’s three-year return has risen to 17.8% p.a., while MHG returned 10.5% p.a. V1AC’s reported three-year figure is 9.5% p.a., although most of that period predates its change to the Vinva strategy.
U.S. shares have had strong 3 and 5 year returns thanks to the performance of shares like Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOG), Berkshire Hathaway (BRKB) and Meta Platforms (META).
However, the performance of American shares compared to the rest of the world has historically been cyclical, so any outperformance now could well be reversed in the future.
Looking at the broad global ETFs without a dedicated U.S. mandate over five years, IOO (17.2% p.a.) has outperformed VGS (13.4% p.a.) and WXOZ (12.1% p.a.). In general, three-year data does not show a consistent winner between hedged and unhedged versions: IHOO and VGAD are slightly ahead of IOO and VGS, while IVV remains slightly ahead of IHVV. Over five years, however, the unhedged versions of these comparable funds remain ahead. This illustrates how currency movements can materially influence international ETF returns.
MHG continues to trail most of the broad global index ETFs over three years, including IVV. V1AC’s historical results require additional care when comparing performance because its current Vinva strategy only commenced in 2026.
It shows again why the benefits of active funds management generally skew in favour of the manager rather than the end investor. It’s no wonder 92% of US active fund managers underperformed the index over the last 15 years.
This is the key reason we avoid active funds for our clients. Indexing tends to do better than active management due to investing being a zero sum game.
Why try to beat the house when you can back the house?
Stockspot’s verdict on Global ETFs
Since 2014, we’ve invested on behalf of our clients into the S&P Global 100 ETF (IOO).
The fund invests in the largest 100 companies in the world so provides great diversification across the world’s largest and most successful businesses which are predominantly located in the US, UK, Switzerland, France, Germany, Japan and Korea.
Despite slightly higher fees than some broad-market alternatives, IOO has continued to outperform VGS and WXOZ over both the updated three- and five-year periods.
This has seen our clients earn 4.5% more p.a over 3 years, by being in IOO rather than WXOZ.
You can see Stockspot Portfolios for more details on the other ETFs inside the portfolios.
Broad global share ETFs
| ASX code | ETF name | 1 Year Total Return (p.a.) | 3 Year Total Return (p.a.) |
| IOO | iShares S&P Global 100 ETF | 20.8% | 21.4% |
| WXOZ | SPDR S&P World ex Australia Carbon Control Fund | 10.6% | 16.9% |
| VGS | Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF | 15.2% | 18.1% |
We continue to favour IOO for our clients due to its size, track record and exposure to the world’s largest 100 companies.
For clients who want to add extra U.S. shares to their portfolio, we offer the iShares S&P 500 ETF (IVV) which is currently our most popular Stockspot Theme, likely because of its strong recent performance.
For those looking to invest globally but who would prefer to avoid U.S. companies, we offer the Vanguard All-World ex US Shares Index ETF (VEU).
VEU has outperformed IVV over the latest one-year period, although IVV remains ahead over three and five years. VEU can provide additional diversification away from the U.S. market, with exposure spread across markets including Japan, the UK, China, France, Germany, Switzerland and Canada.
| ASX code | ETF name | 1 Year Total Return (p.a.) | 3 Year Total Return (p.a.) | 5 Year Total Return (p.a.) |
| IVV | iShares S&P 500 ETF | 15.6% | 19.0% | 15.0% |
| VEU | Vanguard All-World ex US Shares Index ETF | 21.6% | 17.8% | 10.9% |
It’s wonderful to see such a broad range of Global ETF options available for Australian investors.
Stockspot will continue to review the global shares ETF universe to ensure our clients get access to the best options available based on our careful analysis.
Watch this video to find out more about global share ETFs.
If you want exposure to global shares as part of a risk aligned, diversified portfolio without having to do all the research, Stockspot can help. We take care of portfolio management so you can enjoy simple, hands-off investing
