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 Asia equity funds would cost $322 (0.64% a year), so CNEW is $190 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 3 Sept 2026 · 120 securities · top 10 = 12.2%
Country
Monthly returns
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 0.8 | −0.5 | −2.7 | 3.3 | −0.5 | 3.5 | −4.6 | −0.6 | 1.5 | −9.6 | −9.7YTD | ||
| 2025 | 2.7 | −0.8 | −1.4 | −5.5 | 4.5 | 1.6 | 8.9 | 10.7 | −3.3 | −0.6 | −3.0 | 1.8 | 15.1 |
| 2024 | −5.9 | 9.6 | 0.6 | 3.5 | −5.5 | −8.5 | −2.9 | −4.4 | 23.5 | −1.9 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 11.6 |
| 2023 | 7.4 | 2.5 | 2.9 | −1.6 | −3.8 | −4.0 | −0.4 | −4.1 | 0.0 | −2.4 | 2.3 | −5.3 | −7.2 |
| 2022 | −8.0 | −0.8 | −9.9 | −12.0 | 5.1 | 13.9 | −9.0 | −3.8 | −4.4 | −3.0 | 5.5 | −1.3 | −26.9 |
| 2021 | 3.8 | −5.4 | 0.4 | 3.9 | 5.6 | 2.6 | −7.3 | 0.3 | 0.1 | −3.6 | 14.5 | 0.2 | 14.2 |
| 2020 | 1.2 | 10.7 | 1.3 | −2.2 | 4.7 | 10.1 | 10.2 | 4.9 | −8.4 | 5.5 | −8.0 | −3.9 | 26.4 |
| 2019 | 1.4 | 19.6 | 11.4 | −1.3 | −6.3 | 1.8 | 2.9 | 1.7 | −0.8 | 1.4 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 40.1 |
| 2018 | 0.6 | 0.6 |
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.
CNEW questions answered
Written from the latest data on this page. General information only, not financial advice.
How diversified is VanEck China New Economy ETF?
VanEck China New Economy ETF holds 120 securities, and its ten largest positions make up 12.2% of the fund, more spread out than the 48.1% typical of Asia equity funds. That makes it moderately diversified.
Its country exposure is almost entirely China (100.0%), based on holdings as at 3 Sept 2026.
Which ETFs does CNEW double up with most?
No other ASX fund shares more than 10% of its holdings with CNEW, and no fund's returns track it closely, so it offers a fairly distinct exposure.
How is VanEck China New Economy ETF managed – active or passive?
VanEck China New Economy ETF is passively managed: it follows an index and holds what that index holds, rather than relying on a manager's stock picks.
Among Asia equity funds, active funds charge a median 1.18% a year and index funds 0.58%.
What will I pay in fees for CNEW?
CNEW charges a management fee of 0.95% a year, about $95 for every $10,000 invested. Only 14% of the 471 ASX ETFs we track charge more, and the median fee is 0.44%. Among Asia equity funds, the median is 0.60%.
Lower-cost funds with a similar focus include iShares Asia 50 ETF (IAA) at 0.29%, iShares MSCI Japan ETF (IJP) at 0.50% and Vanguard FTSE Asia Ex-Japan Shares Index ETF (VAE) at 0.40%.
If you would rather have a manager choose the investments, active options such as Fidelity Asia Active ETF (FASI) at 1.16% and Fidelity India Active ETF (FIIN) at 1.20% cost more.
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 0.36% for CNEW.
Does VanEck China New Economy ETF follow a theme?
No. VanEck China New Economy ETF is a broad equity fund: it aims to cover a wide slice of its market (Asia) rather than one theme or sector.
What is under the hood of CNEW?
As at 3 Sept 2026, CNEW's ten largest holdings are Gempharmatech Co Ltd (1.5%), Wuxi Apptec Co Ltd (1.4%), Suzhou Sepax Technologies Co Ltd (1.3%), Harbin Gloria Pharmaceuticals Co Ltd (1.3%), Haisco Pharmaceutical Group Co Ltd (1.2%), Aidite Qinhuangdao Technology Co Ltd (1.1%), Kuaijishan Shaoxing Wine Co Ltd (1.1%), Guangdong Songfa Ceramics Co Ltd (1.1%), Guangzhou Ruoyuchen Tech Co Ltd (1.1%) and Shanghai Allist Pharmaceuticals Co Ltd (1.1%). Together they make up 12.2% of the fund.
It follows an index. Most broad share indices weight companies by market size, so the largest companies take the biggest share; the exact rules for CNEW's index are in the issuer's PDS. Its top 10 weighting of 12.2% compares with 48.1% for similar funds.
How well has VanEck China New Economy ETF performed?
Based on its category, VanEck China New Economy ETF aims to grow your capital in line with the index it tracks.
To 23 Oct 2026, with distributions reinvested, it returned −9.6% over 1 year (median −0.7%; ranked 10 of 17), 5.2% a year over 3 years (median 15.0% a year; ranked 11 of 14) and −2.6% a year over 5 years (median 6.8% a year; ranked 13 of 13). The medians and rankings compare it with Asia equity funds. Since listing in 2018 it has returned 6.2% a year.
Tracking difference is the gap between a fund's return and its index's return. We don't hold index returns, so we can't measure it for CNEW; the issuer reports it in the monthly fact sheet. As a guide, a well-run index fund trails its index by about its fee, here 0.95% a year, and a much bigger gap is a warning sign.
Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.