When it comes to ease of use for investing, you can't go past exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to allow you to invest according to thematics, particularly when you're looking to get exposure to overseas shares with a minimum of fuss.
CommSec has just announced which ETFs investors using its platform have favoured over the past year, and perhaps not surprisingly, they have a global and a technology focus.
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Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ)
First cab off the rank is the Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF, which aims to track the tech-heavy NASDAQ's top 100 index, and given how US tech stocks have been performing over the past year, it's no surprise that this one has done well.
According to the Betashares website, this ETF has delivered a 20.87% return over the past year, not far off its index benchmark of 21.32%.
And over three years, the returns are even better, returning 29.49% against the index's 29.96%.
The fund's top holding is Nvidia, comprising 9% of its holdings, followed by Apple at 8.8%, Microsoft at 7.7%, and Broadcom at 5.5%.
That's just ahead of Amazon at 5.1%.
Other holdings include Alphabet, Tesla, and Meta.
iShares Core S&P/ASX 200 ETF (ASX: IOZ)
As the name suggests, this ETF, the second most popular with CommSec users, seeks to track the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), which comprises the top 200 companies listed on the Australian bourse.
Australian shares have not performed anywhere near as well as the top US tech stocks over the past year, and this is reflected in the relatively muted return for this ETF of 5.44% over one year and a three-year return of 9.61%.
Given it tracks the top Aussie stocks, the largest holdings should be no surprise, with Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) the top dog at a 9.84% weighting, BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) at 8.61%, Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) at 5.03%, and National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) at 4.92%.
Other companies in the top 10 holdings include CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL), Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES), Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG), and Goodman Group (ASX: GMG).
iShares Global 100 ETF (ASX: IOO)
The third-most popular ETF among CommSec customers has a global focus; however, considering the dominance of US stocks, its holdings are similar to the NDQ ETF.
The fund aims to track 100 of the largest global stocks, and again, Nvidia and Apple are at the top of the holdings list, with 11.65% and 11.26% of the fund in these two stocks, respectively.
Among the differences between the ETFs is IOO's 2.42% holding in JP Morgan and holdings in Eli Lilly and Walmart.
This ETF has returned 22.43% over the past year and 28.04% over the past three years.
