VanEck’s nine ASX-listed equity ETFs produced sharply divergent FY2026 results, led by a $124.3 million profit at Small Companies Masters while Australian Equal Weight’s earnings fell heavily. The geared fund also reported a loss as borrowings nearly doubled to $48.6 million.
- Small Companies Masters profit rises to $124.345 million
- Australian Equal Weight profit falls from $340.010 million to $82.810 million
- Australian Resources assets more than double to $209.144 million
- Geared ETF loss widens as borrowings reach $48.603 million
- Australian Quality Plus changes name and investment strategy
Small Companies Masters leads the portfolio split
VanEck’s FY2026 accounts show how little a single headline can say about a diversified ETF range. The standout was the VanEck Small Companies Masters ETF (ASX:MVS), which swung from an $8.497 million loss to a $124.345 million profit for the year ended 30 June 2026. Its assets rose to $698.729 million from $298.039 million, helped by $306.676 million of new unit issuance and the fund’s $110.678 million gain on investments.
The VanEck Australian Resources ETF (ASX:MVR) also delivered a stronger result, with profit rising to $13.886 million from $5.962 million. Net assets increased to $209.144 million, while applications exceeded redemptions by roughly $29.3 million. The fund distributed 118 cents per unit, down from 126 cents a year earlier, illustrating that portfolio profit and cash returned to investors do not necessarily move in lockstep.
Largest ETF absorbs a sharp earnings reversal
The range’s largest fund remained the VanEck Australian Equal Weight ETF (ASX:MVW), with net assets of $3.232 billion at year-end. But its profit dropped to $82.810 million from $340.010 million in FY2025, after investment gains fell to a $14.290 million loss from a $258.646 million gain. Applications still reached $507.980 million, although the fund recorded $61.642 million of redemptions and paid or declared distributions totalling $110.374 million, or 131 cents per unit.
Other results were mixed rather than uniformly weak. The VanEck Australian Banks ETF (ASX:MVB) posted a $20.111 million profit, down from $48.699 million, while the VanEck S&P/ASX MidCap ETF (ASX:MVE) reported $17.863 million, compared with $47.999 million. The VanEck Australian Property ETF (ASX:MVA) recorded a $1.686 million loss after a $115.911 million profit in the prior year, despite growing net assets to $811.627 million.
Gearing increases the fund’s sensitivity
The VanEck Geared Australian Equal Weight Complex ETF (ASX:GMVW) reported a $1.586 million loss, reversing a $3.319 million profit. Its investment portfolio expanded to $90.673 million, but borrowings rose to $48.603 million from $24.937 million. The fund’s stated target gearing range is 45% to 60%, corresponding to anticipated geared exposure of 182% to 250%; the accounts also say a 100-basis-point rise in interest rates would have increased the year’s loss by approximately $383,000.
That leverage is not an accounting curiosity. The fund’s assets are secured in favour of HSBC as lender, and the report says the lender may appoint receivers and sell assets if the fund becomes insolvent while indebted. The accounts state that all loan covenants were met at year-end, but the combination of market exposure, variable borrowing costs and a substantially larger loan balance leaves less room for benign market assumptions.
Strategy change leaves a smaller quality fund
The VanEck MSCI Australian Quality Plus ETF (ASX:AQTY), formerly the VanEck Morningstar Australian Moat Income ETF (ASX:DVDY), changed its name and investment strategy on 29 May 2026 to track a different index. It reported a $2.281 million loss, compared with a $7.372 million profit, while net assets fell to $30.714 million from $61.792 million. The financial report records the change but does not provide forward guidance or quantify its commercial implications.
Bottom Line?
The key test is whether FY2026’s wide performance gap narrows or persists as market gains, investor flows and gearing interact in the next reporting period.
Questions in the middle?
- Can Small Companies Masters sustain its enlarged asset base after the exceptional FY2026 investment gain?
- How will the geared fund’s $48.6 million borrowing balance respond to market and interest-rate movements?
- Will Australian Quality Plus attract fresh assets under its new index and investment strategy?