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Fund size
$830.4M
SEP 2026
Total cost ratio
0.30%
per year
Distributions
Semi-Annually
Since inception
15.5 yrs
MAY 2011
The MSCI Australian Shares Small Cap Index is a small capitalisation index generally consisting of the smaller companies on the Australian equity market targeting coverage of around 14% of free float-adjusted market capitalisation of the Australian share market.
US equity 0.54%Non-US equity 99.91%
| Asset class | Net % | Long % | Short % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Equity | 100.45 | 100.45 | 0.00 |
| Bond | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Cash | -0.45 | 0.01 | 0.46 |
| Other | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
Cyclical 56.57%Sensitive 30.53%Defensive 12.90%
Developed markets 100.00%Emerging markets 0.00%
Size score
140
Value-growth score
142
Economic moat
None 72%Narrow 24%Wide 4%
Large 2%Mid 76%Small 21%Micro 1%
| Holding | % Weight | First bought | Market value | Currency | Units held | Sector | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BlueScope Steel Ltd BSL | 2.44 | NOV 2025 | 29.0M | AUD | 952,008 | Basic Materials | Australia | |
| Orica Ltd ORI | 1.99 | MAR 2025 | 23.6M | AUD | 1.0M | Basic Materials | Australia | |
| ALS Ltd ALQ | 1.94 | MAY 2015 | 23.0M | AUD | 1.1M | Industrials | Australia | |
| Ampol Ltd ALD | 1.92 | NOV 2024 | 22.8M | AUD | 517,847 | Energy | Australia | |
| Stockland Corp Ltd SGP | 1.91 | AUG 2026 | 22.7M | AUD | 5.3M | Real Estate | Australia | |
| Ramsay Health Care Ltd RHC | 1.88 | MAR 2025 | 22.3M | AUD | 401,055 | Healthcare | Australia | |
| Sandfire Resources Ltd SFR | 1.87 | JUN 2011 | 22.2M | AUD | 1.0M | Basic Materials | Australia | |
| Cochlear Ltd COH | 1.67 | AUG 2026 | 19.9M | AUD | 142,209 | Healthcare | Australia | |
| Mineral Resources Ltd MIN | 1.66 | MAR 2025 | 19.8M | AUD | 377,854 | Basic Materials | Australia | |
| GPT Group GPT | 1.60 | MAY 2025 | 19.0M | AUD | 4.2M | Real Estate | Australia |
Fund (NAV) Market price
1M
-2.4
3M
-0.5
6M
-2.5
YTD
0.2
1Y
1.9
3Y
17.2
5Y
3.3
10Y
8.0
| Period | Fund (NAV) % | Market price % | Before fees % | Rank in category |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 month | -2.37 | -2.55 | -2.34 | 55 / 129 |
| 3 months | -0.47 | -0.57 | -0.39 | 32 / 129 |
| 6 months | -2.49 | -2.85 | -2.34 | 36 / 125 |
| Year to date | 0.21 | -0.23 | 0.46 | 15 / 125 |
| 1 year | 1.93 | 1.78 | 2.23 | 14 / 125 |
| 3 years p.a. | 17.21 | 17.17 | 17.56 | 36 / 111 |
| 5 years p.a. | 3.30 | 3.22 | 3.61 | 34 / 98 |
| 10 years p.a. | 8.00 | 7.98 | 8.33 | 38 / 61 |
Returns to 31 OCT 2026, periods of 3 years and longer annualised. Rank is the percentile in the Morningstar category at 30 SEP 2026 (1 = best) over the funds ranked.
Total Capital
2016
18.2
2017
16.2
2018
-7.0
2019
20.4
2020
15.2
2021
22.2
2022
-13.2
2023
9.9
2024
7.8
2025
25.5
| Year | Total % | Capital % | Rank in category |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 25.45 | 16.28 | 43 / 140 |
| 2024 | 7.80 | 5.74 | 73 / 139 |
| 2023 | 9.87 | 2.64 | 74 / 121 |
| 2022 | -13.21 | -16.36 | 23 / 115 |
| 2021 | 22.18 | 17.85 | 39 / 113 |
| 2020 | 15.20 | 7.80 | 50 / 100 |
| 2019 | 20.36 | 18.16 | 62 / 92 |
| 2018 | -6.97 | -9.56 | 42 / 86 |
| 2017 | 16.20 | 13.58 | 48 / 79 |
| 2016 | 18.22 | 12.33 | 11 / 81 |
| 2015 | 6.75 | 2.40 | 90 / 66 |
FY17
11.2
FY18
19.0
FY19
4.5
FY20
-1.4
FY21
33.5
FY22
-12.9
FY23
12.8
FY24
8.2
FY25
13.1
FY26
11.7
| Financial year | Total % |
|---|---|
| Financial year to date | -1.60 |
| Year to 30 JUN 2026 | 11.70 |
| Year to 30 JUN 2025 | 13.09 |
| Year to 30 JUN 2024 | 8.19 |
| Year to 30 JUN 2023 | 12.79 |
| Year to 30 JUN 2022 | -12.87 |
| Year to 30 JUN 2021 | 33.54 |
| Year to 30 JUN 2020 | -1.41 |
| Year to 30 JUN 2019 | 4.52 |
| Year to 30 JUN 2018 | 18.96 |
| Year to 30 JUN 2017 | 11.19 |
| 1 year | 3 years | 5 years | 10 years | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpha | 7.36 | 3.57 | 3.69 | 2.93 |
| Beta | 0.86 | 0.88 | 0.91 | 0.95 |
| R-squared | 93.91 | 93.40 | 95.18 | 95.93 |
| Standard deviation | 22.08 | 19.18 | 22.95 | 22.93 |
| Sharpe ratio | -0.56 | 0.76 | 0.21 | 0.51 |
| Sortino ratio | -0.81 | 1.12 | 0.10 | 0.57 |
| Tracking error | 4.06 | 3.72 | 3.74 | 3.44 |
| Information ratio | 2.44 | 0.87 | 1.06 | 0.85 |
| Upside capture % | 99.54 | 94.54 | 100.67 | 100.35 |
| Downside capture % | 66.15 | 73.35 | 83.65 | 85.93 |
| Maximum drawdown % | -10.75 | -10.75 | -20.52 | -30.05 |
Measured against S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries TR AUD with RBA Bank accepted Bills 90 Days as the risk-free rate, to 31 OCT 2026. Maximum drawdown is on gross returns at the latest quarter end.
Risk score
102.3
Morningstar Portfolio Risk Score at 30 SEP 2026.
2024
5.4
2023
1.7
2022
2.5
2021
3.4
2020
2.7
2019
4.0
2018
1.8
2017
1.1
2016
2.2
2015
1.6
| Year | Per unit ($) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 5.3671 |
| 2023 | 1.6612 |
| 2022 | 2.4944 |
| 2021 | 3.3900 |
| 2020 | 2.6655 |
| 2019 | 4.0057 |
| 2018 | 1.7761 |
| 2017 | 1.1272 |
| 2016 | 2.1702 |
| 2015 | 1.6469 |
| Ex Date | Per unit ($) |
|---|---|
| 1 JUL 2026 | 2.2012 |
| 2 JAN 2026 | 1.2960 |
| 1 JUL 2025 | 3.9804 |
| 2 JAN 2025 | 1.3867 |
| 1 JUL 2024 | 0.7619 |
| 2 JAN 2024 | 0.8994 |
| 3 JUL 2023 | 0.9494 |
| 3 JAN 2023 | 1.5450 |
| 1 JUL 2022 | 2.0413 |
| 4 JAN 2022 | 1.3487 |
| 1 JUL 2021 | 1.9917 |
| 4 JAN 2021 | 0.6738 |
Low
ESG risk score
25.25
0.00% of assets are in companies with high or severe controversies.
Carbon risk score
13.85
Category average 12.26
Announcements
| DATE | TIME | HEADING | PAGES |
| Price sensitive |
We continue to hold a bullish view on the Australian market heading into 2026, noting that small-caps have been at the forefront of this year’s gains, outperforming the ASX 200 by close to 10% year-to-date.
The VSO ETF seeks to track the return of the MSCI Australian Shares Small Cap Index before costs. Of the 190 stocks held, the five largest positions are Technology One (TNE) 2.5%, JB Hi-Fi (JBH) 2.5%, GPT Group (GPT) 1.9%, Orica (ORI) 1.9%, and Mirvac (MGR) 1.9% with plenty of smaller positions in the mix, but not as “small cap” as many may initially think: The index/ETF aims to capture the small cap size segment of the Australian equity market which represents approximately 14% of its market capitalisation, i.e. no heavyweights.
Last time MM went bargain hunting in the underperformers via Lend Lease (LLC), Magellan (MFG) and Elders (ELD), things didn’t turn out too well. We subsequently closed ELD for a loss (-9%) while we hold LLC (down -11%) & MFG (up +6.7%). Today, we’ve looked at things slightly differently, as discussed at length, bond yields have controlled equities through 2023, with the lack of traction by the small caps illustrating the point perfectly.
MM believe the underperformance by ASX and US small-caps is maturing fast
MM is bullish on the VSO ETF into Christmas
MM is cautiously bullish on the VSO ETF through 2025
MM is looking for further performance catch-up by the small-caps
MM are adding to Small Caps using VSO in the Core ETF Portfolio, allocating a further 2%, taking it to a 10% target weighting, around $67
MM is neutral on the small caps short-term
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