Australians hold more money in ASX ETFs than at any point in the market's history. Three funds in particular stand out.
Between them, VAS, VGS, and NDQ manage more than $52 billion.
Popularity and performance are not the same thing, though.
So here is how the most widely held funds on the local market have actually done over the last year.
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1. Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF
The Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS) is the largest fund on the ASX.
The ETF held $26.19 billion as of 31 July and charges just 0.07% per year, which works out to $7 annually on a $10,000 holding.
The fund tracks the S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO) across 321 holdings.
Its total return over the twelve months to 31 July was 5.79%, of which 3.13% arrived as distributions.
Across a decade, the ETF has compounded at 8.92% a year.
Those figures are quite respectable, but not as strong as the next two.
2. Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF
The Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS) is the international counterweight most Australians own alongside VAS.
The ETF manages $17.21 billion and charges 0.18% per year for exposure to 1,247 companies across developed markets.
The United States accounts for 73.2% of the portfolio, followed by Japan at 5.8% and the United Kingdom at 3.7%.
VGS returned 10.47% over the same twelve months and 13.79% a year over the past decade.
3. Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF
The Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ) is the most aggressive of the three ETFs, but also the most expensive at 0.48% in fees a year.
The fund holds roughly $8.7 billion and buys the 100 largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq.
Information technology represents 58.2% of the fund, with communication services at 13.7% and consumer discretionary at 11.2%.
The fund's trailing distribution yield is only 1.5%, so the fund's return comes primarily as capital growth.
Over the past twelve months, NDQ has returned roughly 12%, which puts it narrowly ahead of the field.
Which of these ASX ETFs performed best?
The differences in performance are not really about fund selection, but rather reflect a year in which American technology earnings kept growing as the Australian index leaned on slower-growth banks and miners.
A softer Australian dollar flattered both offshore funds along the way, since their assets are unhedged.
Foolish takeaway
One year of performance tells you almost nothing about which of these ASX ETFs deserves your money.
The ten-year numbers are far more instructive: I would still start with VAS for franking credits and VGS for a strong geographic spread.
NDQ is the satellite holding. With 58% of holdings in the technology sector, this fund is a concentrated bet and carries more risk than the other three.
