An ETF's ticker is more important than its name.
ETFs have very long names that no-one really remembers. When searching for an ETF on Bloomberg, Morningstar or whatever the ticker is what gets used. When media outlets - guilty as charged - discuss ETFs, they refer to them by their tickers. Even within ETF issuers themselves, staff mostly refer to an ETF by its ticker - it's easier, right?
Tickers, then, are supremely important, both as de facto names and as marketing devices. With this in mind, we went and put together a list of what we thought were the best Australian tickers (in no particularly order).
5) BOND
SPDR S&P/ASX Australian Bond Fund
does what's on the tin: tracks the Australian bond market. BOND is the oldest bond ETF in Australia and shows how State Street stuck the knitting in early in fixed income ETFs as well as equities.
4) DRUG
BetaShares Global Healthcare ETF
, tracks healthcare companies outside of Australia. As its ticker suggests, DRUG focusses on pharmaceutical companies, which of course provide drugs.
3) GOLD
ETFS Physical Gold
, it's a gold ETF backed by gold bars in a vault. So it only makes sense that the ticker is GOLD. GOLD is a popular ticker around the world, and its taken in Canada, the US, the UK and Germany. But in Australia, ETF Securities got to it first.
2) MOAT
VanEck Vectors Morningstar Wide Moat ETF
tracks companies that have wide moats - or sustainable competitive advantages. VanEck seems to have bagged the ticker in the US and the UK as well.
1) FOOD
BetaShares Global Agriculture Companies ETF
, tracks agriculture companies, which of course provide food. FOOD is a popular ticker in English speaking countries, and is taken on other countries' exchanges. In the US and Canada, the ticker is taken by Vaughan Foods and Goodfood Market Corp - both food companies. In Australia, however, the ETF issuers got to it first.
