The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is often used as a benchmark for Aussie investors.
The 10% gain over the last 12 months is nothing to complain about. However there were international markets that brought investors even better returns.
ASX exchange traded funds (ETFs) can be a useful vehicle to gain exposure to these markets outside of Australia.
Let's look at some that beat the Australian market in the last financial year.
iShares Asia 50 ETF (ASX: IAA)
This fund aims to provide investors with the performance of the S&P Asia 50 Index. This index is 50 of the largest Asian companies in China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan.
It may interest Aussie investors looking to gain exposure to the Asian tech sector. This makes up approximately 42% of the fund.
This includes the likes of Tencent, Samsung, and Alibaba.
In FY25, this fund rose an impressive 25%.
iShares Europe ETF (ASX: IEU)
As the name suggests, this fund aims to track the performance of large capitalisation equities of the 16 major developed European markets.
It includes global leaders like Nestlé, LVMH, Roche, and Unilever.
Its three largest sectors by exposure include financials (23.2%), industrials (18.99%) and healthcare (13.42%).
This fund could attract Australian investors looking for exposure in these sectors which are largely underrepresented in the Australian market.
In the previous financial year this fund rose 18%.
Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets Shares ETF (ASX: VGE)
A fund that may not be on everyone's radar is the Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets Shares ETF (ASX: VGE).
The ETF provides low-cost exposure to companies listed on emerging markets, allowing investors to participate in the long-term growth potential of these economies.
It is heavily diversified, with more than 5,000 holdings making up the fund.
With a large exposure to Asian markets, it includes companies from countries from China, India, Taiwan, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and South Africa.
It has risen 14.72% in the last month.
iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV)
A popular ETF for its exposure to the largest companies in the US market, iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV), the fund tracks the performance of the S&P 500 Index (SP: .INX).
It includes companies like Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL), and Nvidia Inc (NASDAQ: NVDA).
Over the last year, it has risen 15.50%
