VanEck Australian Banks ETF (ASX:MVB) $44.52

The VanEck Australian Banks ETF (MVB) provides simple concentrated exposure to Australia’s major banks, although Macquarie Group (ASX:MQG) is the largest position at 20.9%. The “Big Four” plus Macquarie make up more than 97% of the ETF making it a simple beast. With a management fee of ~0.28%, MVB offers a straightforward way to gain income-focused exposure to the sector, which may feel soft today but its still up +6.4% year-to-date.

The banks have been struggling of late and although we feel the worst is probably behind them it’s hard to see them outperforming the ASX until we some pressure lifted from the Australian consumer.

• We can seed the MVB testing, or even making new highs, in 2026 but the upside feels limited. Yielding ~3.5% (mostly franked) we think holding income stocks directly makes more sense.