VanEck's GOAT ETF on the ASX uses an AI model to pick 150 global stocks. The simulated record shows a 12.6% annualized return since 2005, beating MSCI by 3%.
VanEck launched an ETF on the ASX that uses artificial intelligence to pick stocks. The fund brings quant-style investing to retail brokers.
The VanEck Dynamic International ETF (GOAT) selects 150 stocks from a universe of 1,200 developed-market companies. An AI model developed with Akros Technologies scores them on fundamentals and macro data, rebalancing the portfolio each month.
A simulated track record for the underlying Akros index showed a 12.6% annualized return since July 2005. The simulated index beat the MSCI World ex-Australia benchmark by 3% a year, VanEck said.
Arian Neiron, VanEck's head of Asia-Pacific, called the strategy the “industrialisation of alpha”. The strongest relative performance in the simulation came in “stressed, weak-cycle conditions,” Neiron said.
“AI doesn't get anchored, it doesn't get emotional, and it doesn't have career risk that stops it from being early,” Neiron said.
Early top holdings include Apple and NVIDIA. Microsoft carries an Alpha Score of 61 out of 100 at AlphaScala. ExxonMobil and Caterpillar are also in the portfolio. Nvidia's Alpha Score is 75.
The launch arrives during a record wave of new ETF listings. A record 72 were added in the 2026 financial year. Minotaur Capital, another quant firm, is also planning an ETF.
“What was once the exclusive preserve of multibillion-dollar quant shops with floors of PhDs is now accessible to every Australian with a brokerage account,” Neiron said.
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