It's all so easy. Just one transaction and brokerage fee will net you a big basket of US shares or stocks in other overseas markets.

The trend is clear: The Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS) is the second most popular ASX ETF today.

The US stock market's outperformance in recent years has inspired this trend.

That outperformance repeated in FY25, but not to the same extent as previous years.

S&P 500 Index (SP: INX) shares lifted by 13.63% and delivered a total return of 15.16% in FY25.

By comparison, S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares rose by 9.97% and delivered a total return of 13.81%.

Here, we review newly published ASX data showing which ETFs holding overseas stocks produced the best returns for investors in FY25.

Total returns incorporate both share price gains and distributions (or dividends).

Top 6 international ETFs for total returns in FY25

According to the data, here are the top six ETFs:

BetaShares Video Games and Esports ETF (ASX: GAME)

The GAME ETF delivered an astronomical 12-month return of 90.33%. The historical distribution yield is 0.77%.

This ASX exchange-traded fund has a market cap of $13.47 million and a management expense ratio (MER) of 0.57%.

VanEck Video Gaming and Esports ETF (ASX: ESPO)

The ESPO ETF delivered a similarly stunning annual return of 66.41%. The historical distribution yield is 4.97%.

This ETF has a market cap of $95.65 million and a MER of 0.55%.

Betashares Global Gold Miners ETF — Currency Hedged (ASX: MNRS)

The MNRS ETF delivered a total annual return of 54.68%. The historical distribution yield is 0.26%.

This exchange-traded fund has a market cap of $102.13 million and a MER of 0.57%.

VanEck Gold Miners ET (ASX: GDX)

The VanEck Gold Miners ETF delivered an outstanding one-year return of 52.68%. The historical distribution yield is 0.8%.

A substantial lift in the gold commodity price was a significant tailwind for this ETF last financial year.

This ETF has a market cap of $800.7 million and a MER of 0.53%.

iShares China Large-Cap ETF (ASX: IZZ)

The IZZ ETF delivered a total annual return of 44.86%. The historical distribution yield is 3.75%.

This ETF has a market cap of $404.11 million and a MER of 0.6%.

Hyperion Global Growth Companies Fund – Active ETF (ASX: HYGG)

The HYGG ETF delivered a one-year return of 37.14%. There is no historical distribution.

This ETF has a market cap of $3,555.21 million and a MER of 0.7%.

The post Which ASX ETFs holding international shares gave investors the best returns in FY25? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The fund consists of "a high-conviction portfolio of quality global listed equities from a research driven, bottom-up investment philosophy". It's looking for companies that have predictable earnings, low debt, sustainable competitive advantages, organic growth options and experienced and proven management teams. 

The September 2022 monthly update shows the fund has declined 31.8% over the past 12 months. The biggest detractors to performance were some of the largest and most popular global tech stocks.

Even for those of us who are somewhat numb to just how far these fallen heroes have tumbled, when the numbers are laid bare, you see just how brutal this market has been for a number of large-cap tech stocks.

Block (NYSE: SQ) – down 74%

Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU) – down 80%

Spotify (NYSE: SPOT) – down 57%

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) – down 55%

How the mighty have fallen. 

Yet Hyperion are sticking to their guns, confident in what they believe will be a low-growth inflationary environment, that such an environment is best for their investing style.

Hyperion says that while short-term performance has been unpredictable, and acknowledging it has been a difficult period for investors, the fund believes it has allocated capital to businesses that will produce superior long-term results. 

The top five holdings at the end of September were all large-cap US tech stocks, namely Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) and Airbnb (NASDAQ: ABNB). Combined, they made up over half the Hyperion Global Growth Companies Fund portfolio.

Hyperion went on to say its "global portfolio continues to produce strong short-term financial results which are consistent with the assumptions that underpin our long-term valuations," saying it believes its portfolio "should perform relatively well in an economic downturn".

The Hyperion Global Growth Companies Fund share price has fallen 31.7% over the past 12 months, in line with the underlying performance of the fund.

The post Tough year for leading global growth fund laid bare with brutal fall in tech stocks appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.