ASX exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are incredibly popular with investors, especially youngsters, for their ease and diversification.
The Australian ETF industry ended FY25 at another record high of $280.5 billion in total assets under management.
ETFs enable investors to buy a big basket of shares, usually tracking a specific index, through a single trade for one brokerage fee.
Online trading platform Stake has provided data to Motley Fool showing which ETFs were the most traded by its customers in FY25.
The motivation behind these most actively traded ETFs is demonstrated in the buy/sell ratio for each one.
Every ETF bar one within the top 10 had a buy ratio higher than 80%.
This indicates that Australian investors view ETFs as long-term investments.
This contrasts with the buy/sell ratios of the 10 most traded ASX 200 stocks of FY25, which were much more mixed.
Let's take a look.
10 most traded ASX ETFs of FY25
The data shows that investors are still very interested in using ASX ETFs to gain exposure to US shares and other international stocks.
Three of the top four ASX ETFs have international exposure.
At No. 1, the iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV) tracks the US S&P 500 Index (SP: .INX), which is the 500 largest listed companies by market capitalisation in the US.
The Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ) tracks the NASDAQ-100 Index (NASDAQ: NDX), which is the top 100 companies on the NASDAQ.
The Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS) tracks the MSCI World ex-Australia (with net dividends reinvested) in Australian dollars Index.
This ETF holds 1,325 mostly large-cap stocks listed in developed countries, like the US and European Union nations.
| Rank | ASX ETF | Buy/Sell ratio |
| 1 | iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV) | 87% buy / 13% sell |
| 2 | Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS) | 81% buy / 19% sell |
| 3 | Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ) | 83% buy / 17% sell |
| 4 | Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS) | 84.5% buy / 16.5% sell |
| 5 | Vanguard Diversified High Growth Index ETF (ASX: VDHG) | 76% buy / 24% sell |
| 6 | Betashares Australia 200 ETF (ASX: A200) | 84% buy / 16% sell |
| 7 | Betashares Diversified All Growth ETF (ASX: DHHF) | 85% buy / 15% sell |
| 8 | Global X Physical Gold ETF (ASX: GOLD) | 86% buy / 14% sell |
| 9 | Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF (ASX: VHY) | 80% buy / 20% sell |
| 10 | Global X FANG+ ETF (ASX: FANG) | 87% buy / 13% sell |
Source: Stake
Why is IVV ETF at the top?
Stake markets analyst, Samy Sriram, said the IVV ETF provides "cheap, one-click access to 500 of the best stocks in the US".
You can check out the IVV's performance over the Australian financial year here.
Sriram said:
Some investors pair it with Australian stock ETFs to create a diversified portfolio.
It provides exposure to the big mega-cap tech names, but enough diversification to leaders in other industries like JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM), Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE: XOM) and Walmart Inc (NYSE: WMT).
It continues to be lifted by the strong interest in AI-related tech stocks.
The ASX IVV had the equal highest buy ratio of 87% along with the No. 10-ranked Global X FANG+ ETF (ASX: FANG).
ASX Fang+ ETF provides concentrated exposure to just 10 US stocks.
Six are Magnificent 7 stocks (Tesla is excluded), suggesting Aussie investors still believe in the Mag 7's prospects despite one expert claiming it's an increasingly 'irrelevant concept'.
FANG's other stocks are streaming company Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX), cybersecurity business CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CRWD), semiconductor and infrastructure software company, Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO), and enterprise IT services management firm, ServiceNow Inc (NYSE: NOW).
What about ASX VAS?
It's no surprise to see the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS) highly ranked at No. 2 in the top 10 most traded funds.
VAS is the biggest ETF on the market and tracks the S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO).
Sriram explained its popularity:
With a management fee of 0.07%, it offers very cheap diversification.
It has exposure to dividend-paying blue chips like the big banks and CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL).
It also pays a quarterly distribution, which is attractive for income investors.
More reading on ASX ETFs
Find out which ETFs holding international shares gave investors the best returns in FY25.
Here are the top 6 ETFs holding ASX shares that produced the best returns in FY25.
