Australian shares
VSO
Vanguard MSCI Australian Small Companies Index ETF · Vanguard
Around 190 smaller Australian companies — the ones that sit below the big household names on the market.
What the fee costs you
The management fee is 0.3% a year. Here’s what that works out to in dollars:
A 0.3% yearly fee works out to about $30 a year per $10,000 invested.
A rough guide based on the headline fee only. Other costs (such as brokerage or buy/sell spreads) aren’t included.
The basics
- Issuer
- Vanguard
- Asset class
- Australian shares
- Number of holdings
- ~190
- Where it invests
- 100% Australia.
- Income paid
- Half-yearly
- Currency hedged
- N/A — It holds Australian companies priced in Australian dollars, so there's no foreign-currency exposure to hedge.
Its character
A way to own the smaller end of the Australian market — companies beyond the top 100 or so. It's less dominated by the big banks than a broad fund, but spread across more speculative, less-established businesses.
What to keep in mind
Smaller companies tend to swing more than large ones — they can grow faster but also fall harder — so this is generally a bumpier ride than a broad or large-company Australian fund.
Income
Distributions can carry franking credits, since it holds Australian companies that pay franked dividends.
How this fund relates to others
Holds the smaller Australian companies that the broad funds — VAS, A200, IOZ and STW — mostly leave out, so it overlaps with them very little.
Figures last verified 2026-06-12against the issuer’s factsheet and PDS.