Plenty of new ASX ETFs have hit the market over the past year.
ETF providers are giving investors more and more opportunities to gain exposure to niche themes and sectors.
Thematic investing involved targeting a specific theme. There are no specific rules around how a particular theme is defined.
However themes tend to centre around future changes such as disruptions, new technologies and megatrends, sustainability, founder-led companies, or sub-sectors like electric vehicles and cybersecurity.
Thematic investing has been on the rise, which has led ASX ETF providers to release new funds that aim to capture these emerging themes.
Lately, we have seen new ASX ETFs hit the market that target themes like silver, commodities, or geographical focusses such as the Global X Japan TOPIX 100 ETF (ASX: J100) which listed last year.
Yesterday, the team at Betashares announced the latest ASX ETF set to hit the market.
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Global Momentum ETF
The newest ASX ETF from Betashares will trade under the name: Betashares Global Momentum ETF (ASX: GTUM).
According to Betashares, it aims to track the performance of an index (before fees and expenses) comprising a portfolio of global developed markets companies (excluding Australia) with above average momentum scores, as measured by risk-adjusted returns.
GTUM's Index ranks stocks within the eligible universe based on 6 and 12-month risk adjusted returns to target more sustainable positive momentum over sharp, highly volatile run-ups.
Stocks displaying consistently strong positive momentum over recent history are rewarded with higher weights in the index.
At the time of writing, it is made up of 200 underlying holdings.
Its largest sector allocation is to:
- Financials (29.9%)
- Information Technology (22.6%)
- Industrials (22.1%)
By country:
- United States (46.4%)
- Canada (11.9%)
- Japan (8.7%)
- Britain (8.0%)
- Spain (5.8%)
In yesterday's report from Betashares, the ETF provider said momentum offers a unique return profile that differentiates it from other style factors such as quality and value, historically exhibiting low or even negative excess return correlation.
As a result, it can be an appealing complement to many equity funds (both active and passive) which often exhibit style biases. Blending momentum with its distinct return profile may therefore provide meaningful diversification benefits within an existing equity portfolio.
What is momentum investing?
The ethos behind the fund is momentum investing.
This is a strategy that involves buying companies that have outperformed and selling or avoiding those that have recently underperformed.
According to Betashares, rather than aiming to profit from underlying company fundamentals, momentum investing instead is based on the theory that rising asset prices tend to continue rising, and falling prices tend to continue falling.
Since its inception in January 2011 to end December 2025, GTUM's Index has outperformed the MSCI World Ex Australia Index by 3.14% p.a.
