Vanguard Active Factor ETFs

Vanguard has announced that its first actively managed ETFs for Australian investors have commenced trading on the ASX, effective 17 April 2018.

According to Vanguard, the ETFs - Global Value Equity (ASX: VVLU) and Global Minimum Volatility (ASX: VMIN) - offer practical and low cost investment options for investors seeking to gain factor exposure.

Managed by Vanguard's Quantitative Equity Group (QEG), the Global Value Equity ETF invests in global equity securities demonstrating value characteristics, while the Global Minimum Volatility ETF aims to deliver a return with lower volatility than the FTSE Global All-Cap Index (AUD hedged) before fees, expenses and tax.

"Factors are the DNA of an investment portfolio; the underlying characteristics that drive investment performance," Michael Roach, QEG's Australian head, said.

"Vanguard is taking a different approach to other factor fund offerings in the market - we are actively managing these portfolios, weighting shares according to their exposure to each factor whilst maintaining a broadly diversified investment portfolio."

Vanguard in Australia now manages more than $140 billion of assets across index and active managed funds, exchange traded funds (including four diversified ETFs launched in 2017), and separately managed accounts.