FAANG has become an acronym that almost every investor in the world is familiar with now.
It stands for (of course): Facebook, Apple, Amazon.com, Netflix and Google (now called Alphabet Inc). This group of companies have become the face of 'big tech' over in the United States — and their mindblowing success stories have had investors clambering over them for more than a decade now.
Unfortunately for ASX investors, all of the FAANG stocks are listed on US exchanges, which makes it relatively difficult for Aussies to own shares of them, at least compared with our own ASX shares.
Fortunately, it has never been easier for Aussies to get a slice of the FAANG pie than it is today.
So here are 3 easy ways ASX investors can access the FAANG stocks today.
1) A FAANG-dominated index fund
The BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ) is the first easy way to get a hold of the FAANG stocks within your own portfolio. This exchange-traded fund (ETF) actually holds the largest 100 companies on the US Nasdaq exchange. Fortunately, the FAANG stocks make up a huge chunk of this index due to their sheer size. At the time of writing, Apple comprises the largest holding in NDQ at a 13.6% weighting. Next up is Amazon with 11.2%. Down the line, Alphabet has a 7.1% weighting, Facebook a 4.3% and Netflix at 1.9%. NDQ has a management fee of 0.48% per annum.
2) A FAANG-focused ETF
A second option for ASX investors looking for FAANG exposure is the ETFS FANG+ ETF (ASX: FANG). This is a relatively new ETF, only incepted back in February 2020. Even so, I think it's a great alternative to NDQ if you're looking for more concentration. This ETF holds the 5 FAANG stocks, as well as another 5 tech companies that are fellow tech heavyweights (hence the +). It's currently weightings are as follows:
- 15.2% to Tesla Inc.
- 10.7% to NVIDIA Corporation
- 10.7% to Apple
- 10% to Amazon
- 9.5% to Alibaba Group
- 9.2% to Twitter Inc.
- 8.9% to Facebook
- 8.8% to Alphabet
- 8.8% to Netflix
- 8.2% to Baidu Inc.
FANG charges a management fee of 0.35%.
3) Buy the shares yourself
It used to be extremely difficult for ASX investors to buy US-listed shares directly, but this is no longer the case. All of the major brokerage platforms run by the ASX banks (such as Commonwealth Bank of Australia's (ASX: CBA) CommSec) now offer international trading, usually with an additional fee.
Further, there is a bevvy of other brokers that offer international options too, such as Stake and Charles Schwab. If you're dead keen on owning the FAANGs, then you might just want to go straight to the source.
