Spotlight: InvestSMART High Growth Portfolio

This year marks a decade since InvestSMART launched our investment portfolios, with six of our 10 ETF portfolios celebrating their 10th anniversary in 2024. We thought it would be a great opportunity to put our portfolios under the spotlight. Let's take a look at the second of our diversified portfolios to hit the market - the High Growth Portfolio - which has consistently outperformed the majority of its peers since it made its debut.

About the InvestSMART High Growth Portfolio

The High Growth Portfolio invests in a portfolio of five to 15 exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with an emphasis on growth assets such as Australian and international shares.

It is best suited to Aussies saving for longer-term goals, including retirement, as the minimum suggested investment timeframe is seven years or more.

Here are a few quick facts about the High Growth Portfolio: 

• Inception date: 27 October 2014
• Suggested timeframe: 7 years
• Risk: High
• Minimum initial investment: $10,000 (or $4,000 with Fundlater)
• Management fee: 0.55% p.a. capped at $550 p.a.
• Benchmark Index: Morningstar® Australia Aggressive Target Allocation NR AUD

Where does the InvestSMART High Growth Portfolio invest?

The High Growth Portfolio has a high allocation of growth assets, with 46%invested in international equities, 35% in Australian equities, and 6% in property and infrastructure as at 30 April 2024. The remaining 13% is in cash (8%) and fixed interest (5%). 

The ETFs that InvestSMART currently includes in the High Growth Portfolio are:

• Betashares Australian High Interest Cash ETF (ASX: AAA)
• iShares Core Composite Bond ETF (ASX: IAF)
• VanEck FTSE Global Infrastructure (Hedged) ETF (ASX: IFRA)
• iShares Core S&P/ASX 200 ETF (ASX: IOZ)
• Vanguard Australian Property Securities Index ETF (ASX: VAP)
• Vanguard Global Aggregate Bond Index (Hedged) ETF (ASX: VBND)
• Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS)

Some of the top underlying ETF holdings include BHP, Commonwealth Bank, Microsoft, CSL, Goodman Group and Apple.

What are the fees?

InvestSMART's management fee is 0.55% a year. So, on a $10,000 investment (which is the minimum) that equates to $55 a year. The management fee is capped at $550 a year, which means that even if you have an investment worth more than $100,000 the most you'll pay is $550 a year.

Transaction costs, which cover InvestSMART's costs of buying and selling investments, also apply. This is mainly brokerage which is the greater of $4.40 per trade or 0.088% of the value of the trade and is paid entirely to a third-party broker.

There are also indirect costs charged by the underlying ETFs and for the High Growth Portfolio that's estimated to be 0.13% a year.

How has the InvestSMART High Growth Portfolio performed?

The High Growth Portfolio has provided a great return for investors, averaging 8.22% a year since its inception in October 2014. So what does that mean in dollar terms? Well, if you had invested $10,000 in the High Growth Portfolio when it first launched, your investment would have been worth $21,223 at the end of April 2024 - that's a total increase of 112.23%.

In the 12 months to the end of April 2024, the High Growth Portfolio returned an impressive 12.98%. The Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS) was the star performer in the High Growth Portfolio in that period.

InvestSMART High Growth Portfolio performance

Returns to 30 April 2024. ¹Since inception on 27 October 2014.

How does the InvestSMART High Growth Portfolio compare to its peers?

The High Growth Portfolio has outperformed the majority of its peers both over the short and long term. As you can see from the table below, the High Growth Portfolio has returned 8.17% p.a. over five years. The average annualised returns of the peer funds in this category was 5.09% over that same period.

High Growth Portfolio performance vs peers

Returns to 30 April 2024. ¹Since inception on 27 October 2014.

And at 0.55% a year (capped at $550 a year) the High Growth Portfolio's management fee is lower than the average fee of its peer funds, which is sitting at 1.13% a year.

Key takeouts

The InvestSMART High Growth Portfolio is a great option if you are saving for the long term and are comfortable with a degree of volatility as there's a very high allocation to growth assets.  

The management fee is very competitive and the portfolio's long-term returns have been strong, with the portfolio outperforming the majority of its peers over one, three and five years as well as since its inception almost 10 years ago.