VLUE: The VanEck International Value ETF Behind One of FY26's Strongest ASX Returns

Written by Christopher Hall, AdvDipFP | Authorised Representative, AFSL 526688 | Updated July 2026

The VanEck MSCI International Value ETF (VLUE) was one of the strongest-performing ASX-listed ETFs of the 2026 financial year, returning 52.27% over the 12 months to 30 June 2026 — roughly 37 percentage points ahead of the MSCI World ex Australia Index (+14.95%). VLUE tracks a 250-stock international "value" index, and one holding did much of the heavy lifting: memory-chip maker Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU), around 5.4% of the portfolio, which re-rated sharply on demand for AI memory. Note one point of confusion for holders: on 1 July 2026 VLUE's unit price fell from $43.95 to $36.898 — but that fall was the fund trading ex-dividend after a $6.65-per-unit distribution, not a loss of underlying fund value.

VLUE's FY26 in Numbers

The 2026 financial year (the 12 months to 30 June 2026) was a standout period for the value factor, and VLUE captured it. The fund's one-year total return of 52.27% is effectively its FY26 result, and it sat well ahead of the broad developed-market benchmark across every timeframe on the table below.

	1 mth	3 mths	YTD	1 yr	3 yrs (p.a.)	5 yrs (p.a.)	Since inception (p.a.)
VLUE	3.45%	28.77%	29.58%	52.27%	26.04%	18.15%	18.56%
MSCI World ex Australia Index	3.14%	12.61%	5.60%	14.95%	17.79%	13.38%	15.35%
Difference	+0.31	+16.16	+23.98	+37.32	+8.25	+4.77	+3.21

Source: VanEck, Morningstar, Bloomberg, as at 30 June 2026. Total returns assume immediate reinvestment of all dividends and include management fees but exclude brokerage and taxes. VLUE inception date is 8 March 2021. The MSCI World ex Australia Index is shown as the widely recognised developed-market large- and mid-cap benchmark; VLUE's own index holds fewer companies with different country and sector allocations, so the two are not directly comparable. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

What VLUE Holds and How It Selects Stocks

VLUE tracks the MSCI World ex Australia Enhanced Value Top 250 Select Index — 250 international large- and mid-cap companies chosen for high value scores relative to their sector peers. MSCI measures "value" on three inputs: price to book value, price to forward earnings, and enterprise value to cash flow from operations. The index is designed to lift exposure to the value factor while limiting unintended sector bets, and it excludes weapons and tobacco companies.

The practical result is a portfolio spread across technology, telecommunications, healthcare, financials, energy and consumer sectors — not a single-theme bet. Micron sits at the top, but the next names down span very different industries.

#	Holding	Country	Sector	Weight
1	Micron Technology	United States	Information Technology	5.4%
2	Kioxia Holdings	Japan	Information Technology	3.6%
3	Verizon Communications	United States	Communication Services	2.2%
4	Salesforce	United States	Information Technology	2.1%
5	Qualcomm	United States	Information Technology	2.1%
6	Toyota	Japan	Consumer Discretionary	1.9%
7	AT&T	United States	Communication Services	1.7%
8	Comcast	United States	Communication Services	1.5%
9	Adobe	United States	Information Technology	1.4%
10	Hewlett Packard	United States	Information Technology	1.3%

Source: MSCI, holdings as at 1 July 2026. Holdings and weightings are subject to change. The full top-20 list — which also includes Accenture, Pfizer, Shell, General Motors, Dell, CVS Health, HSBC, Citigroup, Sanofi and BNP Paribas — is published in the VanEck factsheet.

The Micron Story: When Value Investing Works as Intended

Value investing sets out to identify companies the market has priced cheaply, on the expectation that improving fundamentals are eventually reflected in the share price. Micron Technology is a textbook example of that thesis playing out.

Once viewed as an attractively valued, cyclical semiconductor business, Micron has become one of the world's strongest-performing large-cap companies as demand for AI memory has accelerated. Its most recent quarterly result reported record revenue and a significant earnings beat, driven by exceptionally strong demand for its high-bandwidth memory (HBM) products — the specialised memory used in AI accelerators. That re-rating, from cheap cyclical to market leader, was a key contributor to VLUE's FY26 outperformance.

Micron is the standout, but it is not the whole story. VanEck notes that companies such as Adobe, Pfizer and Shell show attractive value opportunities continue to exist across technology, healthcare and energy — not only within AI infrastructure. That breadth is the point of a rules-based value index: it does not need any single stock to keep winning.

Why VanEck Argues the Backdrop Still Favours Value

Looking ahead, VanEck argues the macro environment continues to support the case for value investing. The reasoning: if inflation stays above the US Federal Reserve's target and interest rates remain "higher for longer", the premium investors are willing to pay for distant future earnings falls, and markets tend to place more weight on companies generating strong cash flows and trading on attractive valuations today. VanEck points to historical periods — the era between the dot-com bust and the Global Financial Crisis, and the 2022 inflation surge — as comparable environments in which value outperformed.

That is VanEck's house view, not a forecast from Finer Market Points. No factor or style outperforms in every market, and value has spent long stretches lagging growth. The record above is a description of what has already happened, not a prediction of what comes next.

Why VLUE's Unit Price Fell on 1 July 2026

Holders who checked VLUE on 1 July 2026 saw the unit price drop from $43.95 to $36.898 — a fall of about $7.05, or roughly 16% in a single session. That looks alarming in isolation, but it was almost entirely mechanical: VLUE went ex-dividend.

On 30 June 2026, VanEck confirmed a final FY26 distribution of $6.6500 per unit, with an ex-date of 1 July 2026. When a fund trades ex-dividend, its price drops by approximately the distribution amount, because buyers from that date are no longer entitled to the upcoming payment. The cash has not disappeared — it is being paid out to unitholders on record rather than held inside the fund's net asset value.

Item	Detail
Closing price, 30 June 2026 (last day cum-dividend)	$43.95
Final FY26 distribution declared	$6.6500 per unit
Opening / ex-dividend price, 1 July 2026	$36.898
Total price change	−$7.052
Explained by the distribution going ex	≈ −$6.65
Remaining ordinary market movement	≈ −$0.40
Ex-date	Wednesday, 1 July 2026
Record date	Thursday, 2 July 2026
Payment date (indicative)	Monday, 27 July 2026

The arithmetic reconciles cleanly: $43.95 less the $6.65 distribution leaves a reference price of about $37.30, and the actual $36.898 open was only around 40 cents below that — ordinary market movement on the day. A holder who owned VLUE on 30 June is entitled to the $6.65 per unit (payable 27 July), so on a total-return basis the ex-dividend fall is not a loss at all. VanEck also operates a dividend reinvestment plan (DRP) for the fund, which reinvests the distribution into additional units for participating holders instead of paying cash.

Distribution amount, ex-date, record date and payment date sourced from the VanEck Investments Limited ASX announcement dated 30 June 2026. Unit prices (30 June and 1 July 2026) are ASX-traded prices. Withholding-tax components of the distribution were to be announced separately on or around 15 July 2026.

VLUE, HVLU and the Currency Question

VLUE holds international shares priced in foreign currencies and is unhedged, so its returns reflect both the underlying shares and movements in those currencies against the Australian dollar. VanEck also lists HVLU, an Australian-dollar-hedged version of the same strategy, for holders who prefer to strip out currency movements. The two funds pursue the same value exposure and differ only on currency treatment. For background on how that choice works for Australian investors, see the Finer Market Points guide to hedged vs unhedged ETFs. VLUE also carries a Lonsec "Recommended" rating.

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Remember that past performance is no guarantee of future results, and all trading involves risk.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the VanEck MSCI International Value ETF (VLUE)?

VLUE is an ASX-listed exchange traded fund from VanEck that tracks the MSCI World ex Australia Enhanced Value Top 250 Select Index — 250 international large- and mid-cap companies selected for high value scores (based on price to book, price to forward earnings, and enterprise value to operating cash flow) relative to their sector peers. It excludes weapons and tobacco companies and has been listed on the ASX since 8 March 2021.

Why was VLUE one of the strongest-performing ASX ETFs in FY26?

VLUE returned 52.27% over the year to 30 June 2026, about 37 percentage points ahead of the MSCI World ex Australia Index (+14.95%), according to VanEck and Morningstar data. A rotation toward the value factor drove the result, and one holding — Micron Technology, around 5.4% of the fund — re-rated sharply on AI memory demand and was a key contributor.

Why did VLUE's unit price fall from $43.95 to $36.898 on 1 July 2026?

Because VLUE went ex-dividend. VanEck declared a final FY26 distribution of $6.65 per unit with an ex-date of 1 July 2026. When a fund trades ex-dividend its price falls by roughly the distribution amount, since new buyers no longer receive that payment. The $43.95 closing price on 30 June, less the $6.65 distribution, gives a reference of about $37.30 — close to the $36.898 open, with the remaining ~40 cents being ordinary market movement. The value was paid out to unitholders (payable 27 July 2026), not lost.

What does trading ex-dividend mean?

"Ex-dividend" means "without the dividend". From the ex-date, anyone buying the units is not entitled to the upcoming distribution — it belongs to whoever held the units the day before. Because that cash is about to leave the fund, the price drops by approximately the distribution amount on the ex-date. It is a normal, mechanical adjustment that happens to every dividend-paying share and ETF, not a sign the investment has fallen in value. To receive VLUE's distribution, an investor needed to hold units by the close of trading on 30 June 2026.

What is the difference between VLUE and HVLU?

Both funds follow the same international value strategy. VLUE is unhedged, so its returns include movements in foreign currencies against the Australian dollar. HVLU is the Australian-dollar-hedged version, which aims to remove that currency effect. The choice between them is a currency decision, not a difference in the underlying share exposure.

Which index does VLUE track?

VLUE tracks the MSCI World ex Australia Enhanced Value Top 250 Select Index. It holds 250 international companies and has different country and sector allocations from the broad MSCI World ex Australia Index, which is why the two benchmarks can diverge significantly, as they did in FY26.

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Sources

#	Source	Type
1	VanEck — VLUE performance table, top holdings, index methodology and value-factor commentary (as at 30 June / 1 July 2026)	Fund provider
2	VanEck Investments Limited — ASX announcement of final FY26 distributions, dated 30 June 2026 (VLUE $6.65/unit; ex-date 1 July, record date 2 July, payment 27 July 2026)	ASX announcement
3	Morningstar & Bloomberg — total return data used in the VanEck performance table	Market data
4	MSCI — VLUE index holdings and weightings (as at 1 July 2026)	Index provider
5	ASX — VLUE traded unit prices, 30 June and 1 July 2026	Exchange data

Educational Disclaimer: This content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Consider your financial situation and seek professional advice before making investment decisions.

Finer Market Points Pty Ltd, CAR 1304002, AFSL 526688, ABN 87 645 284 680. This general information is educational only and not financial advice, recommendation, forecast or solicitation. Consider your objectives, financial situation and needs before acting. Seek appropriate professional advice. We accept no liability for any loss or damages arising from use. Authors and presenters may hold positions in discussed companies and investment products.