Key highlights

  • MVOL tracks the MSCI Australia IMI Select Minimum Volatility Index and held 99 companies, with its top 10 making up 36.97%.
  • Its beta is 0.66 and its standard deviation 7.32, both lower than most broad Australian equity ETFs, and its management fee is 0.30%.
  • Utilities (4.02%) and Consumer Defensive (6.52%) weights are above the category averages of 1.30% and 3.68%.

Minimum volatility ETFs build portfolios designed to move less than the broader share market, usually by selecting and weighting stocks according to their historical price swings. The iShares Edge MSCI Australia Minimum Volatility ETF (ASX:MVOL) applies that approach to Australian shares. It was admitted to the ASX on 14 October 2016, is classified by Morningstar as Equity Australia Large Blend and uses the MSCI Australia IMI Select Minimum Volatility NR AUD index as its benchmark.

This article summarises the exposure MVOL provides, drawing on its ASX fund page, including its sector mix, its largest holdings, its fee and its distribution record. It does not include return data or advice.

What the fund is designed to do

The fund seeks to achieve its objective by tracking the performance of the MSCI Australia IMI Select Minimum Volatility Index. Rather than weighting companies by size, a minimum volatility index constructs a portfolio with the aim of lowering its overall volatility relative to the parent index, while keeping some constraints on sector and stock weights.

The effect is visible in the fund’s metrics: its beta is 0.66 and its standard deviation is 7.32, compared with the 1.00 beta of the market. The fund holds 99 companies, and its turnover ratio is 26.80%. The fund size is $32.49 million with 900,784 units outstanding, and trading in the ETF is relatively thin, with an average daily volume of 873 units.

Sector allocation

By Morningstar sector, MVOL’s largest weightings are Financial Services (30.45%), Basic Materials (21.54%), and Industrials (8.97%). Relative to its Morningstar category average, the fund holds a higher share in Industrials (8.97 vs 6.74%), Communication Services (7.03 vs 3.95%), Consumer Defensive (6.52 vs 3.68%), and Utilities (4.02 vs 1.30%). It holds a lower share than the category average in Basic Materials (21.54 vs 26.24%), and Healthcare (3.55 vs 6.88%). The remaining listed sectors are Communication Services (7.03%), Consumer Cyclical (6.73%), Consumer Defensive (6.52%), Energy (5.48%), Real Estate (5.16%), Utilities (4.02%), and Healthcare (3.55%).

The tilt toward Utilities, Consumer Defensive and Communication Services, and away from Basic Materials and Healthcare, is consistent with a strategy that favours less volatile sectors.

Asset mix, company size and geography

The fund is almost fully invested in shares, with stocks at 99.13% and cash at 0.87%. By company size, 99.23% is in companies above $1 billion and 0.77% in companies between $500 million and $1 billion, with none below $500 million. The category averages are 92.40%, 6.82% and 0.79%.

All of the fund, 100.00%, is in Australia, compared with 94.32% for the category.

Top holdings

The ten largest holdings make up 36.97% of the fund, with 63.02% across the other 89. They are BHP Group (ASX:BHP) at 5.90%, Telstra Group (ASX:TLS) at 5.05%, ANZ Group (ASX:ANZ) at 4.14%, Westpac Banking Corporation (ASX:WBC) at 3.45%, Transurban Group (ASX:TCL) at 3.44%, Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) at 3.42%, Macquarie Group (ASX:MQG) at 3.04%, Coles Group (ASX:COL) at 3.00%, Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) at 2.82% and Washington H. Soul Pattinson (ASX:SOL) at 2.68%.

Compared with a market-cap-weighted fund, the list includes a telecommunications company, a toll road operator and a supermarket chain among its largest positions, while Commonwealth Bank of Australia is not in the top ten.

Distributions

MVOL pays distributions twice a year. The most recent was a final distribution of $0.460 per unit, with an ex-date of 1 July 2026, a record date of 2 July 2026 and a payment date of 13 July 2026. Earlier distributions were $0.636 in January 2026, $0.854 in July 2025, $0.619 in January 2025 and $0.922 in July 2024. The page lists an annual yield of 3.03%.

Fund snapshot and recent filings

On the ASX page, MVOL showed a last price of $36.21, up $0.14 or 0.38%, a bid-offer range of $35.00 to $36.70, a day range of $36.21 to $36.35 and a trading volume of 122 units. The management fee is 0.30% and the ISIN is AU00000MVOL7. Its head office is at Level 12, 33 Alfred Street, Sydney.

Recent announcements include a monthly applications, redemptions, units on issue and derivatives notice on 7 October 2026, the annual financial report to 30 June 2026 on 25 September, a Product Disclosure Statement on 24 September, and monthly notices on 7 September and 6 August 2026.

What MVOL’s exposure adds up to

MVOL provides index-based exposure to 99 Australian companies selected to lower volatility, with a beta of 0.66, a higher weighting to defensive sectors than its category and a 0.30% management fee.