Betashares Geared Australian Equities Complex ETF Guide (GEAR): What Is It All About?

Overview

Betashares Geared Australian Equities Complex ETF (ASX: GEAR) offers Australian investors a geared route into local shares. Its reported portfolio centres on major banks and resource companies, while its gearing can magnify movements in both directions. The supplied performance record varies by period, underlining that historical returns should be read alongside the risks of leverage and concentration.

Category

GEAR provides geared exposure to Australian equities, combining broad domestic share-market exposure with borrowing within the fund. This structure can increase participation in rising markets, but also makes the strategy more sensitive to market declines and volatility than an ungeared share ETF.

The supplied performance figures show contrasting results across periods: the reported one-year return is -6.868%, while the three-year return is 18.917%. The five- and ten-year returns are 9.848% and 12.596%, respectively, and the year-to-date return is -0.089%. These figures describe different historical windows and are not a forecast; geared returns can diverge from those of an ungeared share portfolio over time.

Key facts

Ticker

GEAR

Exchange

AU

ISIN

AU00000GEAR1

Category / focus

Leveraged & Inverse Equity

Provider

BetaShares Capital Ltd

Domicile

Australia

Currency

AUD

Inception date

2014-04-29

Use of income

Half-yearly

UCITS

No

Costs

TER

0.00%

Ongoing charge

0.00%

AUM

594.0M

The supplied TER, ongoing charge and net expense ratio display fields each report 0%. These are the provided figures; check current fund documents for the applicable costs and any other charges.

Performance

YTD

9.9%

1 year

7.9%

3 years

22.1%

5 years

11.0%

10 years

13.9%

Dividend yield

1.85%

Top 10 concentration

103.2%

Holdings

1. BHP Group Ltd24.79%

   Ticker

   BHP

   Sector

   Basic Materials

   Country

   Australia

2. Commonwealth Bank of Australia19.39%

   Ticker

   CBA

   Sector

   Financial Services

   Country

   Australia

3. National Australia Bank Ltd9.43%

   Ticker

   NAB

   Sector

   Financial Services

   Country

   Australia

4. Westpac Banking Corporation9.68%

   Ticker

   WBC

   Sector

   Financial Services

   Country

   Australia

5. ANZ Group Holdings Ltd9.06%

   Ticker

   ANZ

   Sector

   Financial Services

   Country

   Australia

6. CSL Ltd7.23%

   Ticker

   CSL

   Sector

   Healthcare

   Country

   Australia

7. Wesfarmers Ltd7.03%

   Ticker

   WES

   Sector

   Consumer Cyclical

   Country

   Australia

8. Macquarie Group Ltd6.70%

   Ticker

   MQG

   Sector

   Financial Services

   Country

   Australia

9. Rio Tinto Ltd4.80%

   Ticker

   RIO

   Sector

   Basic Materials

   Country

   Australia

10. Woodside Energy Group Ltd5.05%

    Ticker

    WDS

    Sector

    Energy

    Country

    Australia

Weights are percentages of the fund; bars use a 0–100% scale. Displayed entries may not cover the whole portfolio.

The portfolio is strongly tilted towards Australian financials and basic materials. BHP Group Ltd is the largest reported holding at 26.111%, followed by Commonwealth Bank of Australia at 20.856%. Major banks including NAB, Westpac and ANZ also feature prominently, alongside Wesfarmers, Macquarie Group, CSL, Rio Tinto and Woodside Energy. This creates substantial exposure to a relatively small group of companies and sectors.

Regions

• Australasia99.0%

• Asia – Emerging2.6%

• United Kingdom1.1%

• United States0.7%

• Eurozone0.2%

• Japan0.0%

• Africa0.0%

• Canada0.0%

• Middle East0.0%

• Latin America0.0%

Weights are percentages of the fund; bars use a 0–100% scale. Displayed entries may not cover the whole portfolio.

Asset allocation

• Stock100.0%

• Bond0.0%

• Cash0.0%

• Other0.0%

• Property0.0%

Weights are percentages of the fund; bars use a 0–100% scale. Displayed entries may not cover the whole portfolio.

Sectors

• Financial Services31.7%

• Basic Materials25.9%

• Healthcare7.1%

• Consumer Cyclicals6.6%

• Industrials6.2%

• Real Estate5.3%

• Energy4.6%

• Consumer Defensive3.7%

• Communication Services3.1%

• Technology2.2%

Weights are percentages of the fund; bars use a 0–100% scale. Displayed entries may not cover the whole portfolio.

Related ETFs

GEAR stands apart from conventional Australian share ETFs because it uses gearing, which increases exposure to market movements. BetaShares’ G200 is another geared Australian shares fund, while BBOZ takes a geared short-market approach; these are contextual comparisons, not recommendations.

Risks

Who it may suit

May be of interest to investors researching geared exposure to Australian shares who understand that leverage can amplify losses as well as gains and are comfortable with substantial fluctuations. It is a complex strategy and may not suit investors seeking straightforward, ungeared market exposure.

Key risks

Gearing can magnify declines as well as gains, so losses may be larger than with an otherwise similar ungeared exposure. Market volatility and compounding can make longer-term results differ from a simple multiple of market returns. The reported portfolio is concentrated in a small number of large holdings, adding company and sector concentration risk. The supplied cost fields display 0%, but investors should check current fund documents and consider any trading or other costs before making decisions.

FAQ