Key Highlights

  • The fund holds 156 international small-cap companies selected on a quality score.
  • The quality score uses return on equity, earnings variability and debt to equity.
  • The management fee is 0.59%, and the top ten holdings account for only 13.91%.
  • The July 2026 distribution of $0.130 is lower than the $0.920 paid in July 2024.

VanEck MSCI International Small Companies Quality ETF (ASX:QSML) gives investors access to a portfolio of international small-cap companies selected from the MSCI World ex Australia Small Cap Index. The fund was admitted to the ASX on 10 March 2021 and last traded at $31.21 on 13 October 2026. It reports a fund size of $1.58 billion.

Detail

Information

Ticker

ASX:QSML

Fund

VanEck MSCI International Small Companies Quality ETF

Category

Equity World Mid/Small

Benchmark

MSCI Wld ex Aus Small Cap Qu 150 NR AUD

Fund size

$1.58 billion

Management fee

0.59%

Total holdings

156

ASX admission date

10 March 2021

Quality selection and holdings

Companies are chosen from the parent index on a quality score based on return on equity, earnings variability and debt to equity. The ten largest positions represent 13.91% of the fund. Woodward leads at 1.64%, followed by Royal Gold (1.50%), Medpace Holdings (1.48%), ITT (1.45%) and Exelixis (1.37%).

East West Bancorp holds 1.36%, Lincoln Electric 1.34%, Sterling Infrastructure 1.32%, Manhattan Associates 1.24% and Mueller Industries 1.18%.

Size, sector and country mix

Companies between $500 million and $1 billion in market capitalisation account for 69.86% of the fund and those above $1 billion for 30.13%. Industrials holds 34.32% against 23.10% for the category, Financial Services 20.21% and Technology 12.93%. Real Estate has no weighting, against 3.52% for the category.

The United States accounts for 77.30%, the United Kingdom 5.00%, Japan 4.15%, Sweden 2.73% and Canada 2.62%.

Fee, risk and distributions

The management fee is 0.59% a year. The fund reports a beta of 1.04 and a standard deviation of 11.19. The final distribution of $0.130 per unit had an ex-date of 1 July 2026, a record date of 2 July and payment on 27 July, equal to an annual yield of 0.41%.

That is higher than the $0.090 paid in July 2025, but lower than the $0.920 in July 2024, $0.140 in July 2023 and $0.230 in July 2022.

Category classification and liquidity

Morningstar places the fund in the Equity World Mid/Small category, which covers funds investing primarily in small- to medium-sized companies listed around the globe, defined as stocks in the bottom 30% of an equity market by capitalisation, with value, growth or blended styles possible.

Liquidity indicators add a further view. There are 50,393,652 units on issue, and average daily trading volume is 78,212 units. Over the five sessions from 7 to 13 October 2026, daily volume ranged from 39,400 to 82,300 units, with 82,380 recorded on 13 October while the market was still open. The bid-offer range stood at $31.20 to $31.25, and the day range at $31.18 to $31.30. These figures change through the trading day and reflect market activity rather than the fund's holdings.

Recent announcements

The issuer lodged Issued Units Outstanding as at 30 September 2026 on 7 October, the Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2026 on 28 September, and a Replacement Product Disclosure Statement on 20 July.

Final Takeaway

QSML offers a diversified set of small companies, with no single holding above 1.64%, though 77.30% of the portfolio is in the United States. The 0.59% fee and distributions that have varied between $0.090 and $0.920 are part of its profile. These details do not forecast outcomes.