Betashares Western Asset Australian Bond Active ETF
Performance
Total return to 23 Oct 2026, distributions reinvested, before franking. ASX figures are to 30 Sept 2026 and gross of franking, so they run higher for franked Australian funds.
What it costs to hold
Management fee plus trading costs, compared with similar funds.
A typical fund among Australian fixed income funds would cost $124 (0.25% a year), so BNDS is $95 dearer.
Spread is the average gap between buying and selling prices on the ASX. Fees are shown on a flat balance, not compounded on growth. Excludes tax and any adviser or platform fees.
Calendar-year returns
Where the money is
Look-through exposure as at 2 Sept 2026 · 254 securities · top 10 = 50.6%
Country
Sector
Monthly returns
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 0.1 | 0.9 | −1.3 | −0.3 | 1.6 | 1.1 | −0.5 | −0.2 | −0.9 | 0.9 | 1.4YTD | ||
| 2025 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.4 | −0.9 | −0.4 | 3.2 |
| 2024 | 0.1 | −0.1 | 1.3 | −2.2 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 1.8 | 1.2 | 0.5 | −2.1 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 3.7 |
| 2023 | 3.4 | −1.5 | 3.0 | 0.2 | −1.0 | −1.7 | 0.3 | 0.8 | −1.6 | −2.1 | 3.4 | 2.7 | 6.1 |
| 2022 | −1.4 | −1.3 | −3.6 | −2.3 | −0.6 | −1.9 | 3.9 | −2.8 | −1.6 | 1.1 | 1.6 | −2.2 | −10.9 |
| 2021 | −0.5 | −3.2 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 1.8 | 0.0 | −1.5 | −3.9 | 2.1 | 0.6 | −2.8 |
| 2020 | 2.2 | 0.8 | −1.4 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.6 | −0.2 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.1 | −0.2 | 4.8 |
| 2019 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 1.8 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 1.6 | −0.3 | −0.9 | 0.9 | −1.5 | 7.5 |
| 2018 | 1.3 | 1.3 |
Total return each month in %, distributions reinvested, before franking. The latest month runs to the last price date. The first year starts from listing.
Top holdings
Most similar funds
Overlap is the share of the portfolio held in common, look-through. Correlation is of daily returns. High overlap means close substitutes.
BNDS questions answered
Written from the latest data on this page. General information only, not financial advice.
How diversified is Betashares Western Asset Australian Bond Active ETF?
Betashares Western Asset Australian Bond Active ETF holds 254 securities.
Its largest country exposure is Australia at 77.9%, based on holdings as at 2 Sept 2026.
Which ETFs does BNDS double up with most?
BNDS shares the most holdings with Betashares Australian Composite Bond ETF (OZBD) (61% overlap), Betashares Bloomberg Ausbond Composite ETF (COMP) (56% overlap) and Betashares Australian Government Bond ETF (AGVT) (51% overlap). Overlap is the share of the portfolio the two funds hold in common, looking through to the underlying securities.
At 61%, owning both BNDS and OZBD would mostly double up on the same investments rather than spread your money further. Of these, COMP has the lowest fee, at 0.07% a year against 0.42% for BNDS.
How is Betashares Western Asset Australian Bond Active ETF managed – active or passive?
Betashares Western Asset Australian Bond Active ETF is actively managed. Rather than tracking an index, a fund manager at Betashares decides what to buy and sell, aiming to do better than the market after fees.
Among Australian fixed income funds, active funds charge a median 0.45% a year and index funds 0.22%.
What will I pay in fees for BNDS?
BNDS charges a management fee of 0.42% a year, about $42 for every $10,000 invested. That is cheaper than 51% of the 471 ASX ETFs we track, where the median fee is 0.44%. Among Australian fixed income funds, the median is 0.23%.
Lower-cost funds with a similar focus include VanEck Australian Subordinated Debt ETF (SUBD) at 0.29%, Vanguard Australian Fixed Interest Index ETF (VAF) at 0.10% and iShares Core Composite Bond ETF (IAF) at 0.10%.
The fee is taken from the fund's assets and is already reflected in its returns. You'll also pay brokerage when you buy or sell, and the bid-ask spread, which has averaged 0.09% for BNDS.
Does Betashares Western Asset Australian Bond Active ETF follow a theme?
No. Betashares Western Asset Australian Bond Active ETF is a broad fixed income fund: it aims to cover a wide slice of its market (Australia) rather than one theme or sector.
What is under the hood of BNDS?
As at 2 Sept 2026, BNDS's ten largest holdings are Australian Government 3.5% Dec-34 (2.1%), Australian Government 2.75% May-41 (1.6%), Aud - Australia Dollar (1.6%), New S Wales Treasury Crp 1.75% Mar-34 (1.5%), Australian Government 3.75% May-34 (1.5%), Treasury Corp Victoria 2.25% Nov-34 (1.4%), Treasury Corp Victoria 1.5% Sep-31 (1.4%), New S Wales Treasury Crp 1.5% Feb-32 (1.3%), New S Wales Treasury Crp 4.75% Feb-35 (1.3%) and Treasury Corp Victoria 2.0% Sep-35 (1.3%). Together they make up 15.0% of the fund.
As an active fund it has no index rule: the manager decides which investments to hold and how much of each, within the limits set out in the PDS.
How well has Betashares Western Asset Australian Bond Active ETF performed?
Based on its category, Betashares Western Asset Australian Bond Active ETF aims mainly to pay a regular income, with capital growth secondary.
To 23 Oct 2026, with distributions reinvested, it returned −0.8% over 1 year (median 0.4%; ranked 22 of 36), 4.6% a year over 3 years (median 4.5% a year; ranked 13 of 27) and 0.6% a year over 5 years (median 1.4% a year; ranked 13 of 22). The medians and rankings compare it with Australian fixed income funds. Since listing in 2018 it has returned 1.7% a year.
As an active fund, BNDS has no index to track. The fairer test is whether it beats similar funds and its market after fees, over several years.
Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.