What's the Risk?

In this episode of “What’s the Risk?” we take a look back on ETF returns for 2025.We’re a little bit late on this one, but it is worth having a look back on the prior year because it can help investors understand the variability of returns in the short run, and put some more context around slightly longer periods. It’s not an exhaustive look given the number of ETFs on offer now, but we highlight what has happened across Australia, global, emerging markets, and some thematics with the most popular ETFs in Australia, along with some of the smaller and wilder thematics out there.Want to learn more about investing? Get our Book: https://www.amazon.com.au/Your-Investment-Philosophy-Protecting-Fraudsters-ebook/dp/B0BCPJ8BGC/Mancell Financial Group is an Authorised Representative No. 226266 and Credit Representative No. 403187 of FYG Planners Pty Ltd, AFSL/ACL No. 224543. ABN 29 009 541 253.

In this episode of "What's the Risk?" we revisit the various constructions of MSCI World ex Australia Index and the S&P/ASX 300 Index (Total Return), 70/30, 60/40, 50/50, 40/60, 30/70, and look at their returns end 2025.Our previous video on the same topic was getting a little bit dated, as the data was end 2023. So, as it was continuing to get views, we felt it was appropriate to provide an update with the last 2 years of data included and show how things may have changed with these constructions.Some people would know the combination of the ETFs that seek to track the performance of these indices as the VAS/VGS split, so it gives a fuller picture of what those constructions would have done over the longer term. It's important to remember these are the underlying assets, do not factor taxes and trading costs, and they are rebalanced on an annual basis.Want to learn more about investing? Get our Book: https://www.amazon.com.au/Your-Investment-Philosophy-Protecting-Fraudsters-ebook/dp/B0BCPJ8BGC/ Mancell Financial Group is an Authorised Representative No. 226266 and Credit Representative No. 403187 of FYG Planners Pty Ltd, AFSL/ACL No. 224543. ABN 29 009 541 253.

Holdover from 2025 (so missing full year 25 data)In this episode of "What's the Risk?" we take a look at the historic performance of a diversified all growth index. In this instance, it's the current target asset allocation of Vanguard's VDAL ETF, which is a newish "all in one" product.As the most obvious competition is DHHF, we mention the differences in asset allocation and run a comparison on the performance of the historic returns of the asset allocation. We also throw in the VAS/VGS split indices to see how a simpler DIY decision may look.As mentioned previously, all in one products can be great options for many investors who are getting started, or just want to autopilot their investment journey. They can have some drawbacks, but in this instance we're just looking at the asset allocation, historic asset allocation, and the historic performance. Want to learn more about investing? Get our Book: https://www.amazon.com.au/Your-Investment-Philosophy-Protecting-Fraudsters-ebook/dp/B0BCPJ8BGC/ https://www.mfg.com.au Mancell Financial Group is an Authorised Representative No. 226266 and Credit Representative No. 403187 of FYG Planners Pty Ltd, AFSL/ACL No. 224543. ABN 29 009 541 253.

In this episode of "What's the Risk", we revisit the topic of ETF overlap. We've looked at it in the past highlighting a combination of several ETFs and how the portfolio construction had a small increase in holdings as we added ETFs, but a larger and larger concentration of its top 10 holdings.Here we revisit the point of diversification and look at a few globally diversified portfolio options that an investor could use, with a small number of ETFs. We also highlight portfolio concentration isn't always a bad thing if there's a evidence backed purpose behind it, but if it's done unwittingly, an investor may end up with poor results they or portfolio volatility they didn't expect.We also highlight a tool called ETF Comparer built by a viewer, which is simple and effective in identifying overlaps between two ETFs. https://etfcompare.com.au/ Want to learn more about investing? Get our Book: https://www.amazon.com.au/Your-Investment-Philosophy-Protecting-Fraudsters-ebook/dp/B0BCPJ8BGC/ https://www.mfg.com.au Mancell Financial Group is an Authorised Representative No. 226266 and Credit Representative No. 403187 of FYG Planners Pty Ltd, AFSL/ACL No. 224543. ABN 29 009 541 253.

In this episode of "What's the Risk?" we take a look at the dilemma the never ending stream of ETF launches poses for investors.You might have an existing portfolio, but there's suddenly something new in the market that catches your eye. It might have lower fees, it might promise to target a particular theme you're interested in, it might focus on a region or country you don't have exposure to, what do you do?It's a dilemma that all of us will face from time to time, and with the arrival of Avantis into Australia with AVTG, AVTS & AVTE it poses a question for our advice business because Avantis shares a similar investment philosophy to us and we know the people in that business are very good at what they do.We go through some of the things that our investment committee looks at, before adding a product to our model portfolios, and maybe that will help you decide whether you need to add a new ETF to your portfolio, or happily continue as you are because it might be a case of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."Want to learn more about investing? Get our Book: https://www.amazon.com.au/Your-Investment-Philosophy-Protecting-Fraudsters-ebook/dp/B0BCPJ8BGC/ https://www.mfg.com.au Mancell Financial Group is an Authorised Representative No. 226266 and Credit Representative No. 403187 of FYG Planners Pty Ltd, AFSL/ACL No. 224543. ABN 29 009 541 253.

In this episode of "What's the Risk?" we take a look at the historic performance of Gold since 1970. There are many ways to invest in gold today, physically where you can own it, or have it stored somewhere, or maybe you could mine it in the Yukon, like Tony Beets and Parker Schnabel of Gold Rush fame.Alternatively there are ETFs in Australia, PMGOLD from the Perth Mint, QAU from Betashares, GOLD from Global X, iShares GLDN, and VanEck's NUGG. All have differences in fees and how they're structured. In the US, the better known ETFs are SPDR's GLD and ishares IAU. We're not looking at products however, simply looking at the Gold price history in USD.Gold has provided a decent long term return to investor, but it can be sporadic. Historically there have been periods of incredibly strong short term performance before almost going dormant for long periods. Such investments require extreme patience and discipline, however we do find that Gold may be a legitimate portfolio diversifier. Should you hold Gold in your portfolio? Like anything it comes down to your investment philosophy and can you justify it based on your goals or needs. It's not something to add on a whim, and certainly not just because the media is talking about it when it's hot.Want to learn more about investing? Get our Book: https://www.amazon.com.au/Your-Investment-Philosophy-Protecting-Fraudsters-ebook/dp/B0BCPJ8BGC/ https://www.mfg.com.au Mancell Financial Group is an Authorised Representative No. 226266 and Credit Representative No. 403187 of FYG Planners Pty Ltd, AFSL/ACL No. 224543. ABN 29 009 541 253.

In this episode of "What's the Risk?" we take a look at the historic performance of the FTSE All-World Ex US Index. Some people would know the ETFs that seeks to track the performance of this index as Vanguard's VEU in both Australia and the US. Since it's inception in 2000, this index has struggled over he long term. It almost began with the dotcom bubble bursting, then later in the 2000's saw the global financial crisis, which lingered for a long time in Europe. While its performance has improved, it was then shaded by the strong recovery in US stocks over the past 15 years which has left some investors questioning why invest outside of the US?In more recent times people have started to question whether the US is the place to be due to several notable reasons, but as we point out, it's best not to over or under allocate based on what you think might happen because you could easily be wrong footed and miss out on returns when they arrive or see a period of underperformance in the areas you over allocate to.Want to learn more about investing? Get our Book: https://www.amazon.com.au/Your-Investment-Philosophy-Protecting-Fraudsters-ebook/dp/B0BCPJ8BGC/ https://www.mfg.com.au Mancell Financial Group is an Authorised Representative No. 226266 and Credit Representative No. 403187 of FYG Planners Pty Ltd, AFSL/ACL No. 224543. ABN 29 009 541 253.

In this episode of "What's the Risk" we take a look at the Fama French US Small Value Research Index. It is a research index from the Fama/French model that tracks the performance of small-cap stocks with low price-to-book ratios.While over the long term, the small/value factor has shown outstanding performance, in recent years it has underperformed. Many people have said these factors have had their day, but this isn't the first time small/value has underperformed against larger growth counterparts, and for investors who want to tilt their portfolio to target higher expected returns, this is a lesson in risk. Factors are not going to always perform as you wish, and they have historically required patience and discipline to capture.The index was created by academics Eugene Fama and Kenneth French and is designed to isolate and measure the "value" and "size" factors in stock market returns.The Fama French US Small Value Research Index investible index, but the research by Fama and French has, and continues to inform Dimensional Fund Advisors, where Fama and French are board members.Want to learn more about investing? Search for "Your Investment Philosophy" on Amazon, Australian link: https://www.amazon.com.au/Your-Investment-Philosophy-Protecting-Fraudsters-ebook/dp/B0BCPJ8BGC/https://www.mfg.com.au Mancell Financial Group is an Authorised Representative No. 226266 and Credit Representative No. 403187 of FYG Planners Pty Ltd, AFSL/ACL No. 224543. ABN 29 009 541 253.