Betashares just launched 3 new ETFs. Here's whether you should buy

Three new funds, one very low fee.

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New ETFs arrive on the ASX almost every week, and very few of them grab the attention of day-to-day ASX investors.

Betashares has just listed three that might.

They are diversified, multi-asset funds designed to be held entirely on their own.

Amazing, all three charge 0.19% a year.

Happy businessman fist pumping while looking at a tablet.

Image source: Getty Images

What the new ETFs actually hold

The three funds are at different points on the risk spectrum.

Betashares Diversified High Growth ETF (ASX: DVHG) runs a 90% growth and 10% defensive allocation.

Betashares Diversified Growth ETF (ASX: DVGR) sits at 75% growth and 25% defensive.

Betashares Diversified Balanced ETF (ASX: DVBA) is the most conservative of the three, at 60% growth and 40% defensive.

Each fund provides exposure to roughly 2,500 Australian and global companies and 12,000 bonds.

DVGR, to take one example, holds 28.8% in Australian equities, 28.3% in United States equities, 10.5% in developed markets outside the US, and 4.5% in emerging markets, with the remaining quarter split between Australian and international bonds.

They join the existing Betashares Diversified All Growth ETF (ASX: DHHF), which holds equities only.

How the new ETFs compare on fees

This is where the launch gets interesting.

Vanguard Diversified High Growth Index ETF (ASX: VDHG) has been the default choice for Australians wanting one-trade diversification.

The fund charges 0.27% a year and runs a 90% growth and 10% income allocation.

DVHG offers effectively the same asset allocation for 0.19%.

That number may sound small. On a $100,000 balance, that is a saving of only $80 a year.

However, compounded inside the portfolio over thirty years, the difference becomes quite more meaningful.

Betashares describes the 0.19% figure as the lowest fee among all-in-one diversified funds currently available in Australia.

What the fee comparison does not tell you

Fees are the easiest thing to compare, yet are rarely the most important.

VDHG has a long track record, returning 10.42% over the year to 31 July 2026 and 8.72% a year across five years.

The Betashares funds have no performance history at all, because they only listed this week.

There are two other practical differences worth knowing.

VDHG holds an allocation to hedged international shares, which changes how the fund behaves when the Australian dollar moves.

Liquidity will also be thinner in a brand new fund, so bid-ask spreads may be wider until the funds build scale.

Should you switch?

Probably not, if you already hold VDHG in a taxable account.

Selling to save 0.08% a year would trigger a capital gains tax event that could take many years to recover.

The question is entirely different if you are looking at a new allocation.

If you are starting a portfolio or making your next contribution, the cheaper fund with the same allocation is the rational default.

Foolish takeaway

These new ETFs are an improvement on what was already available, though only marginally so.

The important decision is still which risk profile suits you.

DVHG suits an investor with decades still ahead of them, while DVBA suits someone who needs the ride to be smoother.

All in all, fee competition among diversified funds is unambiguously good news for Australian investors.

Motley Fool contributor Mark Verhoeven has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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