STW ‘cornerstone ETF of the industry’ sees fee reduction
The first exchange traded fund (ETF) listed in Australia will now see its fees slashed by State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) to reflect the growing attraction of ETFs to mainstream investors.
SSGA has announced it will be reducing the fees of the SPDR S&P/ASX 200 Fund (Ticker: STW) from 0.286 per cent per annum down to 0.19 per cent per annum, following a spate of similar fee reductions across the asset manager's global ETF product suite, including the ASX listed SPDR S&P world ex Australia hedged fund and the SPDR S&P world ex Australia fund.
Amanda Skelly, head of SPDR ETFs for Australia, said that STW remains the "cornerstone exchange traded fund" of the industry.
"STW exemplifies the key reasons why investors around the world use ETFs, that is, diversification, low cost, simplicity and transparency," she said.
"It also provides Australian investors with a more tax effective outcome than many actively managed strategies."
STW has been used by investors for over 14 years to access Australia's leading 200 companies in one simple trade, SSGA said.
STW was first launched in August, 2001, with the ETF sector growing to $5 billion in assets under management in the space of 10 years.
The reduction of fees for STW comes on the back of a significant milestone achieved for the Australian ETF sector which saw the industry surpass $20 billion in assets under management in October this year.
"The changes reflect the significant economies of scale that ETF investors can now tap into when investing with SPDR ETFs," Skelly said.
"We want to offer our clients the very best value and service possible and are delighted as part of our continual product review process to be able to reduce the fees on this popular ETF."
Recommended for you
Clime Investment Management has welcomed an independent director to its board, which follows a series of recent appointments at the company.
Ethical investment manager Australian Ethical has cited the ongoing challenging market environment for its modest decrease in assets over the latest quarter.
Commentators have said Australian fund managers are less knowledgeable compared with overseas peers when it comes to expanding their range with ETFs and underestimating the competition from passive strategies.
VanEck is to list two ETFs on the ASX next week, one investing in residential mortgage-backed securities and the other in Indian companies.
