Welcome to the ReviewETF Awards — our recognition of the standout funds across the Australian ETF market. We've crunched the data on every ASX-listed ETF and named winners across 19 categories spanning short-term performance, long-term consistency, structural strengths, and category leadership.
This is the May 2026 refresh. 10 of the 19 categories have a new winner since the April edition — including a complete reshuffle at the top of the performance awards as the Korea/Asia/semiconductor rally swept through and a surprise undercut on the lowest-cost award.
What changed since April
Award | April winner | May winner | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
Top performer (1 month) | OOO | South Korea rallied 29.7% in May alone | |
Top performer (3 years) | ETPMAG | Semiconductors took the 3Y crown at +269.7% | |
Most consistent | GDX | Korea now ranks top 1-2 across all timeframes | |
Fastest growing | IACT | Vanguard's flagship gained $1.33B in May | |
Lowest cost | VTS | Macquarie undercut Vanguard at 0.03% MER | |
Best for income | VHY | Global dividend aristocrats overtook VHY on 5Y | |
Top technology | HNDQ | FANG's +155.7% 5Y led the tech rerating | |
Top international | IOO | Value international ETF caught up hard | |
Top active | VVLU | Loftus Peak's global disruption strategy leads | |
Top geared (long) | GEAR | Geared US (hedged) crossed +100% on 5Y |
Nine awards held their April winners — including the always-dominant VAS for Largest Fund, DHHF for Best Core, ETPMAG for Top 5Y and Top Precious Metals, OOO for Top Energy, ACDC for Top Commodities/Mining, HJPN for Top Hedged, and VHY for Top Australian.
The methodology
Three different lenses, three different award types.
Performance awards use total return (capital + distributions, reinvested) over the relevant timeframe. Eligibility threshold: AUM ≥ $50M. The tiebreaker is highest AUM.
Consistency awards identify ETFs that rank in the top 25% of all ASX ETFs on every timeframe (1Y, 3Y, 5Y) simultaneously. The score is the average percentile rank across the three timeframes. AUM ≥ $100M.
Category awards apply the same consistency test but at the top 35% threshold within a defined category (precious metals, energy, technology, international, hedged, Australian, etc). One winner per category.
Geared/leveraged ETFs are judged separately because their daily-reset 2x structure makes them incomparable to standard ETFs over multi-year periods.
Performance Awards
These five awards recognise pure performance across the universe.
Top performer (1 month)
Winner: IKO — iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (+29.7%)
South Korea was the dominant story of May 2026. The KOSPI re-rated hard on the back of the Value-Up corporate governance reform and a sustained AI semiconductor demand pulse — Samsung and SK Hynix together drove most of the move. IKO is the cleanest single-trade Korea exposure on the ASX at 0.45% MER.
Runner-ups: SEMI (+28.6%), LNAS (+27.8%), ASIA (+27.1%), CRYP (+26.8%)
Top performer (1 year)
Winner: IKO — iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (+206.0%)
IKO held the 1-year crown from April and extended its lead — from +155% in April to +206% in May. The Korean rally has been the single largest single-country re-rating story of the past 12 months. Caveat: at +206% 1Y, valuations are no longer cheap. Position size accordingly.
Runner-ups: HGEN (+187.3%), SEMI (+151.7%), XMET (+130.9%), ACDC (+108.1%)
Top performer (3 years)
Winner: SEMI — Global X Semiconductor ETF (+269.7%)
SEMI overtook ETPMAG on the 3-year leaderboard — the second time the silver fund has been displaced this year. The semiconductor super-cycle (TSMC, ASML, Nvidia, AMD, Broadcom) has now compounded into a +269% 3-year number. At 0.57% MER it's expensive vs broad tech but justified by the specialised exposure.
Runner-ups: CRYP (+220.7%), ASIA (+216.2%), IKO (+203.8%), LNAS (+194.5%)
Top performer (5 years)
Winner: ETPMAG — Global X Physical Silver (+183.9%)
Silver held the 5-year crown. The combination of monetary demand (silver as inflation hedge) and industrial demand (solar panels, EVs, electronics) drove the multi-year accumulation. ETPMAG is the cleanest physical silver exposure on the ASX.
Runner-ups: FANG (+155.7%), PMGOLD (+152.7%), IKO (+151.3%), GDX (+151.2%)
Most consistent
Winner: IKO — iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (avg percentile 99.2)
IKO took the Most Consistent crown from GDX. To win this category an ETF must rank in the top 25% of all ASX ETFs on 1Y, 3Y AND 5Y returns simultaneously. IKO now sits in the top 1% of all timeframes. This is the single biggest "rerate from forgotten to dominant" story in the awards.
Runner-ups: ETPMAG (99.0), GDX (96.8), ASIA (96.4), MNRS (96.4)
Structural Awards
These five awards recognise the structural standouts — biggest, cheapest, fastest-growing, best income and best one-fund portfolio.
Largest fund
Winner: VAS — Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF ($25.5B)
VAS held the title comfortably. The fund crossed $25 billion in AUM in May — the first ETF on the ASX to do so. Vanguard's flagship is now larger than the next two ETFs (VGS at $16.4B and IVV at $13.5B) by over $9B.
Runner-ups: VGS ($16.4B), IVV ($13.5B), A200 ($9.8B), NDQ ($9.0B)
Fastest growing
Winner: VAS — Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (+$1.33B in May)
VAS added more AUM in May ($1.33B) than any other ETF on the ASX. The Vanguard core continues to be where the largest absolute dollar flows go — even at +5.5% monthly growth, the size means the dollar inflows dominate.
Runner-ups: VGS (+$1.04B), NDQ (+$908M), IVV (+$746M), VGAD (+$483M)
Lowest cost
Winner: MQAE — Macquarie Core Australian Equity Active ETF (0.03%)
The biggest fee surprise of 2026. Macquarie's new MQAE undercuts both VTS and IVV at 0.03% MER — and remarkably, it's an active fund. Macquarie is using fee leadership as a market entry strategy. At over $1.1B AUM already, it's working.
Runner-ups: VTS (0.03%), A200 (0.04%), IVV (0.04%), IOZ (0.05%)
Best for income
Winner: INCM — Betashares S&P Global Dividend Aristocrat ETF (+66.5% 5Y)
INCM overtook VHY on the 5Y total-return test that defines this award. The global dividend-aristocrat strategy delivered both rising distributions and capital appreciation over the past 5 years — VHY's bank-heavy concentration meant it lagged on capital growth despite the higher headline yield.
Runner-ups: UMAX (+64.9%), VHY (+60.0%), MOAT (+54.5%), IHD (+54.4%)
Best core (all-in-one)
Winner: DHHF — Betashares Diversified All Growth ETF (+59.4% 5Y)
DHHF held the title comfortably. The 100% growth assets allocation captured the global equity rally cleanly. VDHG (which holds ~10% bonds) lagged at +48.5%. For most accumulators with 10+ year horizons, DHHF remains the best one-fund portfolio choice.
Runner-ups: VDHG (+48.5%), VDGR (+36.6%), VDBA (+24.4%), VDCO (+15.4%)
Category Awards
One winner per category. ETF must rank in the top 35% of all ASX ETFs on 1Y, 3Y and 5Y simultaneously.
Top precious metals (consistent)
Winner: ETPMAG — Global X Physical Silver (avg 99.0)
ETPMAG retained the precious metals crown — silver's multi-year run has now compounded to the best risk-adjusted exposure in the bucket. Top 1% on all three timeframes.
Runner-ups: GDX, MNRS, PMGOLD, QAU
Top energy (consistent)
Winner: OOO — Betashares Crude Oil Index (avg 92.9)
OOO held the title. The geopolitical risk premium plus structural under-investment in upstream oil capacity has kept the trade working.
Runner-up: FUEL
Top commodities/mining (consistent)
Winner: ACDC — Global X Battery Tech & Lithium (avg 93.3)
ACDC retained the commodities crown — the battery tech narrative kept compounding through May.
Runner-up: QRE
Top technology (consistent)
Winner: FANG — Global X FANG+ ETF (avg 89.1)
FANG overtook HNDQ on consistency. The 5Y return crossed +155% in May — the equal-weighted top-10 US tech basket has been the highest-octane tech exposure on the ASX.
Top international (consistent)
Winner: VLUE — VanEck MSCI International Value ETF (avg 91.1)
A surprise winner. VLUE has been the factor that worked when growth led the rally — and now value has caught up with strong 1M and 1Y numbers. The 5-year +113% total return puts it ahead of broader peers.
Runner-ups: IOO, VESG, VVLU, VEU
Top hedged (consistent)
Winner: HJPN — Betashares Japan Currency Hedged ETF (avg 93.7)
HJPN held the hedged-ETF crown for another month. The Japan + currency-hedge combination has been the most lucrative ETF trade for Australians over the past 3 years — the yen weakness boosted hedged returns while the underlying Japanese equity rally delivered the capital gain.
Runner-ups: HNDQ, IHOO, VGAD, IHVV
Top active (consistent)
Winner: LPGD — Loftus Peak Global Disruption Active ETF (avg 89.5)
LPGD overtook VVLU on the consistency screen. The disruption-themed global active fund has consistently outperformed broad benchmarks over 1Y, 3Y and 5Y.
Runner-up: VVLU
Top Australian (consistent)
Winner: VHY — Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF (avg 70.0)
VHY retained the title — the only Australian-focused ETF that consistently ranks top 35% on all three timeframes. VHY's bank concentration was a tailwind for the 12 months to May 2026.
Runner-ups: IHD, VLC, SYI, SFY
Geared ETF Award
Judged separately. Geared ETFs are not directly comparable to standard ETFs because of their daily-reset 2x structure.
Top Geared ETF (long)
Winner: GGUS — Betashares Geared US Equity (Hedged) Complex ETF (+100.3% 5Y)
GGUS overtook GEAR on the 5Y test — the leveraged US equity exposure with currency hedging delivered the highest 5-year compound return of any geared ETF on the ASX. The US tech rally compounded magnificently through 2x leverage with the AUD/USD currency variable removed.
Runner-ups: LNAS (+86.3%), GEAR (+57.6%)
The bigger picture
10 winners changed in one month. That's an unusually high turnover and tells you something about market conditions:
The Korea / Asia / semiconductor rally has been the dominant story. IKO now wins three awards (1M, 1Y, Most Consistent) — unprecedented for a single-country ETF.
Tech took back the 3Y crown from precious metals. SEMI overtook ETPMAG on 3Y — semiconductor capex is feeding through to returns.
The fee war is intensifying. Macquarie's MQAE at 0.03% MER signals that even active managers will use fee leadership as a market entry tactic. Expect more 0.03-0.07% MER launches.
Value caught up with growth in international. VLUE overtook IOO on the consistency screen — a multi-year shift.
Income ETF rankings flipped. Global dividend aristocrats (INCM) beat the Australian-focused VHY on 5-year total return. The shift reflects the relative underperformance of Australian banks compared to global dividend payers over the past 12 months.
For our broader take on the highest performers, see our Best ETFs on the ASX 2026 — Top 1-year performers and the Best ETFs in Australia 2026 overall winners blog.
Related reading
Disclosure: ReviewETF Awards are based on objective performance, AUM, fee and consistency data. No issuer pays for placement. Data sourced from CBOE Australia Monthly Funds Report, May 2026. Last updated 16 June 2026. This is general information only — not personal financial advice. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.
