Hi Angela,
Firstly, comparing the two ETFs: the QUAL and INCM offer two different approaches to international equities, QUAL focuses on quality and long-term capital growth, while INCM prioritises dividend income. Both invest in global shares excluding Australia, they are unhedged and charge similar management fees of 0.40% and 0.39% p.a. respectively.
- QUAL – Quality and growth: Invests in ~300 financially strong global companies with high profitability, low debt and consistent earnings. With around A$9.1bn in assets, it has significant scale and an established track record, delivering approximately 15.5% p.a. over the decade to June 2026. However, its heavy exposure to US technology stocks could leave it vulnerable if growth stocks continue to fall out of favour.
- INCM – Dividend income: Holds ~190 global companies with a history of maintaining or increasing dividends, offering a trailing yield of around 5%, paid quarterly. Importantly, INCM changed its investment strategy in August 2025, adopting a more diversified dividend-focused approach, meaning earlier performance figures are not directly comparable. With ~A$115mn in assets, it’s considerably smaller than QUAL.
We favour QUAL as a core international equity holding for investors seeking long-term capital growth, given its disciplined quality approach, track record and scale. INCM is better suited to income-focused investors, looking for ASX diversification, seeking regular quarterly distributions but note a higher dividend yield doesn’t necessarily translate into a better total return.
In terms of our Income Portfolio, we haven’t traditionally used ETFs, preferring to create a blended portfolio of stocks and listed credit which since 2017 has delivered ~9.7% a year, but importantly, with a lot less volatility than the broader stock market.