Speaking to InvestorDaily, Mr Vynokur said while ETF usage among Australian investors has increased significantly in the past year Australia remains “five to 10 years behind in terms of the development of the industry compared to the more mature markets like the US”.
Mr Vynokur said Australian ETFs are, however, beginning to address a greater number of investor needs in their product offering, which is helping drive the industry’s growth.
He said a number of the recently launched ETF strategies have been innovative in terms of maximising yield and offering portfolio protection.
“Hedging downside risk in portfolios using ETFs has been a big area of innovation,” said Mr Vynokur.
He said the BetaShares Australian Equities Bear Hedge Fund was a particular fund offering this downside protection by providing investors with returns negatively correlated to the returns of the Australian market.
He said advisers would traditionally sell their equities where there is market volatility in order to reduce their exposure.
“Now they are able to invest in a bear fund that will effectively allow them to protect their portfolio against downside risk,” he said.
Mr Vynokur said BetaShares is working on a new suite of products and will launch them shortly.
“We are certainly very active on the product development side and we are looking to bring a lot of new and very relevant new product offerings for the Australian market,” he said.
