Is GLOB a good ETF?
GLOB is the Barrow Hanley Global Share Active ETF. It tracks the MSCI World ex Australia Index. We classify it under Intl, Value, and Active. Listed on the ASX since 2022-04-13 (over 4 years ago).
The management fee of 0.98% is high, which is common for active, geared or thematic strategies and only worth paying if the approach justifies it. For comparison, similar ETFs average around 0.55%. If cost is your priority, VGS (0.18%), AVNG (0.3%), and DGCE (0.3%) cover similar ground for less.
Portfolio turnover is moderate at about 30% a year — a fair chunk of the portfolio is bought and sold each year, so expect a little more in the way of realised capital gains and trading costs than a plain index fund.
Things to watch
- A 0.98% management fee is high and compounds against you over time.
- Pricier than similar ETFs, which average around 0.55%.
- Cheaper alternatives exist: VGS, AVNG, and DGCE.
What GLOB's categories mean for you
How each category this ETF belongs to tends to behave across market cycles.
Global and international shares from outside Australia — broadening you into thousands of companies and the sectors (tech, healthcare) the local market lacks.
- Market regime
- Essential diversification away from the bank-and-resources-heavy ASX. Unhedged versions carry currency risk; hedged versions remove it at a small cost.
- In a portfolio
- A core holding for almost every long-term Australian portfolio.
Stocks that look cheap relative to their fundamentals (earnings, book value, cash flow). One of the oldest and best-documented return premiums.
- Market regime
- Rewarded over the very long run and especially in rising-rate, reflation and early-recovery regimes — but endured a long, painful stretch of lagging growth through the 2010s.
- In a portfolio
- A long-term tilt that requires patience and a tolerance for extended underperformance versus the growth side of the market.
Actively managed: a portfolio manager hand-picks holdings trying to beat the index, rather than simply tracking it. You pay more in fees for the chance of outperformance.
- Market regime
- Can add value in volatile, falling or inefficient markets where stock-picking and downside protection matter. In long, broad bull markets most active funds struggle to keep up with the cheap index after fees.
- In a portfolio
- Only worth holding if you have genuine conviction in the strategy — decades of evidence show the majority of active funds underperform their benchmark over 10+ years once fees are counted.
General information only, generated from the fund's published data — not personal financial advice. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns. Consider your own circumstances or seek licensed advice before investing.