Vanguard Diversified Balanced Index 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 multi-asset funds would cost $157 (0.31% a year), so VDBA is $16 cheaper.
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 31 July 2026 · 3581 securities · top 10 = 26.7%
Country
Sector
Monthly returns
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 0.1 | 1.6 | −4.3 | 2.4 | 2.6 | 1.4 | −0.4 | 0.5 | −1.0 | 0.3 | 3.0YTD | ||
| 2025 | 1.7 | −0.9 | −1.8 | 0.7 | 2.7 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 1.4 | −0.4 | 0.1 | 9.0 |
| 2024 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 2.1 | −2.0 | 0.6 | 1.6 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 1.4 | −0.2 | 2.3 | −0.2 | 10.7 |
| 2023 | 3.1 | −0.7 | 1.2 | 1.5 | −0.3 | 0.7 | 1.7 | −0.1 | −2.6 | −2.3 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 10.6 |
| 2022 | −3.2 | −2.0 | 0.9 | −2.6 | −1.3 | −4.9 | 4.5 | −1.4 | −4.9 | 3.5 | 2.6 | −2.1 | −10.8 |
| 2021 | 0.2 | −0.8 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 1.8 | −1.7 | −0.6 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 8.9 |
| 2020 | 3.1 | −3.5 | −8.8 | 5.4 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.6 | −0.9 | 0.2 | 4.9 | 0.6 | 5.6 |
| 2019 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 1.6 | 1.5 | −0.1 | 2.7 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 0.6 | −0.2 | 2.2 | −0.7 | 16.1 |
| 2018 | 0.4 | 0.0 | −1.3 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.5 | −0.1 | −3.6 | −0.2 | −1.1 | −0.1 |
| 2017 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
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.
VDBA questions answered
Written from the latest data on this page. General information only, not financial advice.
How diversified is Vanguard Diversified Balanced Index ETF?
Vanguard Diversified Balanced Index ETF holds 3,581 securities.
Its largest country exposure is Australia at 41.3%, based on holdings as at 31 July 2026.
Which ETFs does VDBA double up with most?
VDBA shares the most holdings with Vanguard Diversified Growth Index ETF (VDGR) (67% overlap), Vanguard Diversified Conservative Index ETF (VDCO) (61% overlap) and Vanguard Diversified High Growth Index ETF (VDHG) (54% overlap). Overlap is the share of the portfolio the two funds hold in common, looking through to the underlying securities.
At 67%, owning both VDBA and VDGR would mostly double up on the same investments rather than spread your money further.
How is Vanguard Diversified Balanced Index ETF managed – active or passive?
Vanguard Diversified Balanced Index ETF is passively managed: it follows an index and holds what that index holds, rather than relying on a manager's stock picks.
Among multi-asset funds, active funds charge a median 0.39% a year and index funds 0.27%.
What will I pay in fees for VDBA?
VDBA charges a management fee of 0.27% a year, about $27 for every $10,000 invested. That is cheaper than 73% of the 471 ASX ETFs we track, where the median fee is 0.44%. Among multi-asset funds, the median is 0.27%.
Lower-cost funds with a similar focus include Betashares Diversified All Growth ETF (DHHF) at 0.19%, iShares High Growth ESG ETF (IGRO) at 0.22% and iShares Balanced ESG ETF (IBAL) at 0.22%.
If you would rather have a manager choose the investments, active options such as Schroder Real Return Active ETF (GROW) at 0.69% and VanEck Core+ Diversified High Growth Active ETF (VHGR) at 0.39% 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 0.06% for VDBA.
Does Vanguard Diversified Balanced Index ETF follow a theme?
No. Vanguard Diversified Balanced Index ETF is a broad multi-asset fund: it aims to cover a wide slice of its market (Multi-region) rather than one theme or sector.
What is under the hood of VDBA?
As at 31 July 2026, VDBA's ten largest holdings are Vanguard Global Aggregate Bond Index Fund Hedged (27.3%), Vanguard Australian Shares Index Fund (18.3%), Vanguard International Shares Index Fund (13.5%), Vanguard Australian Fixed Interest Index Fund (12.4%), Vanguard International Shares Index Fund Hedged (7.7%), Vanguard Global Aggregate Bond Index Fund Hedged ETF (7.4%), Vanguard International Small Companies Index Fund (3.7%), Vanguard Emerging Markets Shares Index Fund (3.2%), Vanguard Australian Fixed Interest Index ETF (2.5%) and Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (1.8%). Together they make up 97.8% of the fund. Some holdings are other ETFs, which we look through to their own holdings when measuring exposure and overlap.
It follows an index; the issuer's PDS sets out how that index chooses and weights its holdings.
How well has Vanguard Diversified Balanced Index ETF performed?
Based on its category, Vanguard Diversified Balanced Index ETF aims to grow your capital in line with the index it tracks.
To 23 Oct 2026, with distributions reinvested, it returned 2.4% over 1 year (median 3.7%; ranked 8 of 13), 10.3% a year over 3 years (median 10.9% a year; ranked 8 of 11) and 4.5% a year over 5 years (median 5.8% a year; ranked 6 of 9). The medians and rankings compare it with multi-asset funds. Since listing in 2017 it has returned 5.8% 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 VDBA; 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 0.27% a year, and a much bigger gap is a warning sign.
Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.