The ReviewETF Awards are recalculated every month from the TMX Australia funds report. In each asset class we name the top 1-year performer, the best 5-year performer and the lowest fee among funds with at least $50m, plus the top 5 for inflows and the 5 fastest-growing funds. For September 2026, IKO (South Korea) led international shares with +125.3% over one year, SEMI took the 5-year crown at 35.2% a year, and DHHF swept all three all-in-one awards.
How the awards work
Most "best ETF" lists are opinion. Ours are a formula, applied the same way every month, so a fund can't talk its way onto the list. The current winners always live on the ETF Awards page, and each winner carries a 🏆 badge on its ETF page.
- Who can win. Only funds with at least $50 million under management (AUM, the total money invested in the fund). This filters out tiny funds whose numbers can be flukes.
- Asset classes. Funds compete within their TMX category: Australian shares, international shares, Australian bonds, international bonds, property and infrastructure, diversified all-in-one funds, commodities, crypto and cash. A category needs at least three qualifying funds to hand out awards.
- Top 1-year performer. The highest total return over 12 months, including distributions. If every fund in a category lost money, no award is given.
- Best 5-year performer. The highest total return over five years, shown as a yearly figure. Funds younger than five years can't win this one.
- Lowest fee. The lowest management fee (MER, the yearly cost taken from the fund). If two funds tie, the larger one wins.
- Top 5 inflows. The five funds that took in the most new money during the month, across the whole market.
- Fastest growing. The five funds with the biggest inflows relative to their size, among funds that are at least a year old and had at least $50m before the month's flows.
September 2026 winners at a glance
| Asset class | Top 1 year | Best 5 years (a year) | Lowest fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| International shares | IKO +125.3% | SEMI 35.2% | VTS 0.03% |
| Australian shares | OZR +32.7% | MVR 13.7% | MQAE 0.03% |
| Australian bonds | HIGH +5.5% | EHF1 4.5% | VAF 0.10% |
| International bonds | GCAP +5.2% | EBND 3.4% | WBND 0.19% |
| Property & infrastructure | CIIH +10.5% | VBLD 6.0% | GLIN 0.15% |
| Diversified (all-in-one) | DHHF +8.1% | DHHF 9.2% | DHHF 0.19% |
| Commodities | OOO +80.8% | ETPMAG 23.4% | PMGOLD 0.15% |
| Crypto | Not awarded | Not awarded | IBTC 0.25% |
| Cash | ISEC +4.1% | ISEC 3.2% | BILL 0.07% |
Total returns including distributions to 30 September 2026. Funds with $50m or more only. Source: TMX Australia monthly funds report.
The performance winners
The 1-year winners read like a list of the year's hottest stories. South Korean shares, which are heavy in memory chip makers, soared, oil rallied, and Australian resources stocks led the local market while banks and the broader ASX barely moved.
The best 1-year return in each asset class
The 5-year awards are steadier, but still dominated by narrow bets. SEMI, which holds about 30 semiconductor companies, turned $10,000 into about $45,200 over five years. Silver (ETPMAG) and Australian resources (MVR) also won their categories.
The best 5-year return in each asset class
The lowest-fee winners
The fee awards are the most useful for long-term investors, because a low fee is the one advantage that keeps working every year. VTS, which covers the whole US share market, charges just 0.03% a year, or $30 on every $100,000.
One winner needs a note. MQAE tied VTS at 0.03% and won Australian shares. It is labelled an active fund, but it stays close to the broad market, and it is younger than three years, so it has no long-term record yet. The best-known index funds, A200 at 0.04% and IOZ at 0.05%, are only a fraction behind.
The cheapest qualifying fund in each asset class
The standout of the month is DHHF. It is the only fund to win all three awards in its category: the best 1-year return, the best 5-year return and the lowest fee among all-in-one funds. Compare it with its closest rival in VDHG vs DHHF.
Where the money went
Performance winners grab headlines, but investors keep voting with their wallets for plain, cheap core funds. The five biggest inflows in September were all broad index ETFs, and together they took in about $1.8 billion.
Biggest net inflows in September 2026
None of the performance winners appear here. VGS, VAS, IOZ, A200 and BGBL are the building blocks most Australians use for the bulk of their portfolio. You can see how much these funds overlap in our overlap calculator.
The fastest-growing funds
This award measures inflows as a share of each fund's size, so smaller funds can win. IYLD, an iShares Australian bond fund, more than doubled from new money in a single month.
Inflows as a share of each fund at the start of September
Be careful reading too much into this list. Fast growth can mean a fund has been added to an adviser platform or a model portfolio, not that individual investors have made a call. And SNAS is a geared fund that rises when the Nasdaq falls. It lost 40.9% over the past year and is a short-term trading tool, not a long-term holding.
How to use the awards
- Use fee awards to shortlist core funds. If two funds track the same market, the cheaper one usually comes out ahead over time.
- Treat performance awards as a starting point for research. Check what the fund holds, how concentrated it is and how it fits with what you already own.
- Watch for changes month to month. Performance winners rotate often. A fund that wins year after year on the 5-year measure is more meaningful than a one-off 1-year spike.
- Look at the whole category. The best ETFs and low-cost ETFs lists show the full field, not just the winner.
Common questions
How are the ReviewETF Awards chosen?
By formula, not by a panel. Each month we take the TMX Australia funds report and, among funds with at least $50m, name the top 1-year performer, best 5-year performer and lowest fee in each asset class, plus the top 5 inflows and fastest-growing funds.
What was the best performing ETF in Australia in 2026?
To 30 September 2026, the best 1-year return among funds with $50m or more was IKO, the iShares South Korea ETF, at +125.3%. Over five years, SEMI led at 35.2% a year. Both are narrow, concentrated funds.
Why is there no crypto performance award?
Every qualifying bitcoin ETF lost about 31% over the 12 months to September 2026, and we only give a 1-year award when the return is positive. None are old enough for a 5-year award.
How often are the awards updated?
Every month, when the new TMX Australia funds report is published. Winners can change each month, so check the ETF Awards page for the latest.
Joshua Stega is a financial adviser with 20 years' experience and the founder of ETF Adviser. He built ReviewETF to make every Australian ETF easy to find and compare.
General information only. It does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Consider the PDS and TMD before investing. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Data as at 30 September 2026.