Buy Hold Sell: 6 giant ETFs rated (VAS, QUAL, NDQ plus more)
Australia's $371 billion ETF industry is booming, but are the biggest funds still the best ones to own?
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Size isn't everything...or is it?
Australia's ETF industry continues to break records, with $6.8 billion pouring in during July alone and the momentum shows no sign of slowing down.
The Betashares Australian ETF Review for the previous month notes that flows into international equities led the charge, and that income, in particular, remained a strong theme for ETF investors.
With recent tax reforms and a softening property market, it seems no surprise that flows into fixed income and equity- income ETFs combined reached a new record.
But bigger doesn't always mean better, and just because a product is popular, it doesn't necessarily mean it's right for your portfolio.
As both our guests call out in this episode, does it actually do what it says on the tin? And are you doubling up on the same stocks across multiple ETFs without realising it? With some of the largest funds heavily concentrated in a handful of the same names, how much diversification are you actually getting?
In this episode of Buy Hold Sell, Adam Dawes from Shaw and Partners and Andrew Wielandt from DP Wealth Advisory put the six largest ETFs on the ASX across different asset classes to the test.
This episode was filmed Friday 14th August 2026.
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Episode Summary
1 - Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS)
Andrew Wielandt's rating: BUY
His verdict: A core, low-cost holding that edges out ASX 200 ETFs with slightly better returns.
What he said: "It's a core holding in portfolios. It's the top 300 ASX companies relative to a couple of the other ETFs which track the ASX/S&P 200. So you get the extra 201 to 300. Generally adds around 0.2% per annum to returns."
Adam Dawes rating: BUY
His verdict: A buy, but know what's inside - be mindful of concentration risk.
What he said: "You just need to know what's inside it. Remember that 10-11% is BHP and 11% is CommBank. Just be careful when you're buying these things. You've got to be mindful of that concentration risk."
2 - Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS)
Adam Dawes' rating: BUY
His verdict: The simplest way to get full global exposure in a single trade, particularly for clients with lower balances.
What he said: "I use it for clients with lower balances - it's a great way to get full exposure across the world. If you wanted to break that up, you could use VEU and VTS."
Andrew Wielandt's rating: BUY
His verdict: A buy, but the unhedged currency exposure is worth thinking about given AUD volatility.
What he said: "Who knows where the Aussie dollar's going at the moment relating to interest rates and inflation and the US. Me personally, I'd probably do VGAD, but certainly nothing wrong with VGS. It's also a buy."
3 - iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV)
Andrew Wielandt's rating: BUY
His verdict: If you believe in the US as an economic powerhouse, this is the purest and cheapest way to own it.
What he said: "If you believe the US is an economic powerhouse - and it's pretty hard to argue against that - you are literally buying the top 500 companies. In our model portfolios, we have IHVV [Hedged]. Certainly nothing wrong with IVV."
Adam Dawes' rating: BUY
His verdict: A great ETF but currency moves can meaningfully affect returns.
What he said: "We're in a really weird moment - Australia might be keeping rates on hold, but the US is on the doorstep of raising rates, which is going to affect currencies, which does affect your portfolio."
4 - VanEck MSCI International Quality ETF (ASX: QUAL)
Adam Dawes' rating: HOLD
His verdict: A great product but the quality factor underperforms when small caps are running. Now is not the moment to add fresh money.
What he said: "Quality does underperform when you've got small caps starting to run or markets starting to move higher. I don't think you ever want to sell it because I think it's a great ETF, but I'm not putting fresh money into it because of where we see the market."
Andrew Wielandt's rating: HOLD
His verdict: Brilliant long-term filter, but income is the factor of the moment, not quality.
What he said: "I have not had a company in my client's portfolios over 30 years that has blown up when they've actually met all those attributes. But this is not the time for quality. Momentum was a really strong factor last year. Currently, income is a really strong factor because of the Budget."
5 - Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ)
Andrew Wielandt's rating: BUY
His verdict: The best way to get concentrated US tech exposure but the trillion-dollar AI spending bet is the key risk to watch.
What he said: "They're spending - if I can use some technical language - a butt tonne of money. A trillion dollars. Most companies want about a 15% return on funds, so they're going to have to make about $150 billion in profits. That is the biggest risk with it."
Adam Dawes' rating: BUY
His verdict: A great ETF, but hidden overlap with other funds means investors may be far more concentrated in tech than they realise.
What he said: "Be really, really careful that you're not too concentrated into one stock or one sector. Some people are very overweight tech and they don't really know it, and they're wondering why things are moving in unison."
6 - Vinva Global Alpha Fund Active ETF (ASX: V1AC)
Adam Dawes' rating: SELL
His verdict: The most expensive ETF on the list with performance that doesn't justify the fee.
What he said: "I don't think you need to be there. It's the most expensive ETF on our list today - a 0.89% MER. And the performance has been absolutely horrible."
Andrew Wielandt's rating: SELL
His verdict: Investors are paying 20 times the fee of IVV for significant underperformance.
What he said: "I'm happy to pay an active manager if they are doing a particular job. I'm not sure what job they're trying to do with this - and the performance reflects that."
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I'm an Investment Writer and Presenter at Livewire Markets, dedicated to creating content that makes the world of investing more accessible. With a background in story development, I enjoy distilling complex topics into engaging, impactful media that resonates with audiences.
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I'm an Investment Writer and Presenter at Livewire Markets, dedicated to creating content that makes the world of investing more accessible. With a background in story development, I enjoy distilling complex topics into engaging, impactful media...
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I'm an Investment Writer and Presenter at Livewire Markets, dedicated to creating content that makes the world of investing more accessible. With a background in story development, I enjoy distilling complex topics into engaging, impactful media...
Expertise
No areas of expertise
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