The S&P/ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) and S&P 500 have both fallen around 8% over the last month, but there are a few ASX ETFs having a great start to the year. Let’s take a look at where the opportunities might be.
Of course, this isn’t investment advice and past performance tells us nothing about future performance potential. It’s just interesting to step back from the main indexes every now and then to realise that the world of potential investments is very broad, and there’s always an opportunity somewhere.
ASIA ETF
The Betashares Asia Technology Tigers ETF (ASX: ASIA) gives investors exposure to the 50 largest Asian technology companies. It can be a great way to get tech exposure without over-indexing on the US FANG giants.
The ASIA ETF holds companies you would recognise, like Alibaba Group Holdings, Samsung Electronics, and Tencent Holdings.
These companies are at the forefront of tech and are no less important globally than Amazon Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOGL). Tencent, for example, is heavily involved in AI development. They recently released a new AI model that they claims is even faster than the DeepSeek model that caused a stir a few months ago.
Year-to-date, the ASIA ETF is up around 12% on the back of strong performances from Tencent, Alibaba, and others.
GOLD ETF
While some investors have flocked to high-growth alternatives like the ASIA ETF, others have been seeking out traditional safe havens like gold. The Global X Physical Gold ETF (ASX: GOLD) has been one of the beneficiaries, up around 12% since the start of the year.
The GOLD ETF sets itself apart from other gold ETFs by linking its units to physical gold bullion stored in the JPMorgan Chase vault in London. If you wanted to, you could even redeem your units in the GOLD ETF for actual gold bars… it just doesn’t make much financial sense.
The sudden surge in interest in Australian gold made headlines last week when it caused Australia to record a trade surplus with the US for the first time since records began in the 1980s.
Investors have traditionally looked to gold as a hedge against inflation and as a ‘safer’ asset in times of uncertainty, and I think most people would agree that uncertainty is high right now. Having a small position in gold through an ETF can be an effective way of adding a defensive element to a diversified share portfolio.
F100 ETF
Investors don’t like to talk about it, but there are actually share markets outside of Australia and the US!
The Betashares Ftse 100 ETF (ASX: F100) is a portfolio of 100 blue-chip companies listed on the London Stock Exchange.
The long-term returns of F100 are not too dissimilar to returns from the ASX 200, but the YTD performance has been much stronger. The ASX 200 is down 4.3% since January 1st while the F100 ETF is up around 8.7%.
F100 has benefitted over the last few months from strong performances from its largest holdings, like Astrazeneca (up 12%), HSBC Holdings (up 12%), and Shell (up 5.8%). The returns have also been slightly boosted by the AUD weakening against GBP. This makes UK earnings worth a little bit more to an Australian investor.
