An increasing number of Australian ASX investors are choosing to invest in stocks via exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Not only do they get great diversification in one trade, but ETFs are also an easy way to buy international shares.
Indeed, many ETF providers have reported a strong trend in investors buying ETFs with exposure to US shares.
This is due to the outperformance of US shares over the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) over the past two years.
In 2024, investors in the popular iShares Core S&P 500 AUD ETF (ASX: IVV) enjoyed a total return (including dividends) of 37%.
That compares to 11.5% for the ASX 200.
But I digress.
There is now $255.3 billion invested in ASX exchange-traded funds, according to BetaShares.
The provider's latest data shows ETF investment grew by 34.8% — or $66 billion — in the 12 months to 28 February.
So, it's not surprising that many Aussie investors are proactively buying the dip during the current market volatility and are targeting ETFs.
But which ones?
Well, I'm so glad you asked.
New data from online trading platform Stake gives us a look at which ETFs have been most popular during the market sell-off.
The following table shows the seven most traded ETFs on the Stake platform on Monday.
That was when we saw the biggest market dip of the week, with the ASX 200 falling 4.23%.
As you can see, the buy/sell ratios for each ETF lean strongly on the buy side.
| ASX ETF | Buy % | Sell % |
| iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV) | 88 | 12 |
| Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS) | 87 | 13 |
| Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ) | 82 | 18 |
| Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS) | 88 | 12 |
| BetaShares Diversified All Growth ETF (ASX: DHHF) | 90 | 10 |
| Vanguard Diversified High Growth Index ETF (ASX: VDHG) | 88 | 13 |
| BetaShares Australia 200 ETF (ASX: A200) | 86 | 14 |
Note: Rounding will mean some buy/sell ratios do not add up to 100%
Stake's markets analyst Samy Sriram said Aussie investors buying the dip on Monday targeted ETFs more than individual shares.
Sriram said:
ETFs dominated trading activity, although one particular callout is the Vanguard Msci Index International Shares ETF which has seen a big uptick in buys week over week since February.
In the last week alone, VGS saw a 52% increase in buys, suggesting that investors are adding more exposure to international stocks and shifting away from being overly concentrated in the U.S. market.
The VGS ETF seeks to track the MSCI World ex-Australia (with net dividends reinvested) in Australian dollars Index.
The three biggest benefits of the VGS ETF are geographical diversification, stock diversification, and a bias toward large-cap stocks.
The VGS ETF holds 1,325 stocks from developed nations.
These include the US and some in Europe, the Pacific, the Middle East, and other parts of the world. (US shares dominate the portfolio at 74%).
The ETF focuses on large businesses with broad, global earnings bases. About 80% of the ASX VGS' holdings are large-caps.
This ASX ETF is not hedged, which means it is exposed to currency changes.
Find out which individual ASX stocks Aussie investors targeted last week.
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