Investing in managed funds isn’t as popular on the ASX as it used to be. However, despite the rise of rival products, mainly exchange-traded funds (ETFs), managed funds are still a popular avenue for Australian passive investors.

If you weren’t aware, a managed fund is an unlisted investment. Unlike a share, ETF, or listed investment company (LIC), an investor doesn’t typically buy shares or units of a managed fund on the ASX. Instead, they buy and sell units directly from the fund manager itself. The assets themselves are held in a trust and are managed on behalf of the owners by the fund manager. Because of this structure, managed funds tend to charge higher fees than other passive investment vehicles.

One can find managed funds to invest in almost anything one can think of. In Australia, there are managed funds that cover international shares, bonds, infrastructure, cryptocurrencies, precious metals, real estate, and, of course, ASX shares themselves.

I’ve observed the performance of the top managed funds in Australia for many years and have even invested in a few of them. I wish I knew a very important thing when I did make that first investment.

The events of last week involving Bennelong Funds Management brought this back to the front of my attention. Bennelong was one of the ASX’s most successful fund managers for many years, attracting large sums of funds under management. However, its performance has had a couple of rough years. When this happens, it often results in an exodus of funds, placing even more pressure on its managers. You can ask the folks over at Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG) all about that. This week, it was revealed that Bennelong has been sold to Antipodes Partners.

Managed funds and ETFs on the ASX

Over my years of observing funds like Bennelong, I have noticed a pattern. The ASX always has a fund manager of the moment. A manager that hits impressive performance figures for a few years, drawing plenty of attention and extra dollars. Investors wonder how they did it, and whether they should invest. Years ago, it was Magellan and Bennelong. Today, it could be the high-flyers at L1 Group Ltd (ASX: L1G).

This can last for one, three, or even five years. However, what I have observed over a long period of time is that very few fund managers enjoy more than a year or two in the sun. Most simply cannot match or beat the index over long periods of time, especially enough to offset the fees that they charge.

I wish I knew this when I first started investing in ASX shares. If I did, I would have put more money in ultra-cheap index funds, like the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS) or the iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV). These funds charge minuscule management fees, and yet tend to beat out the managed funds that play in the same space that they do. There are exceptions. But finding those is a hard business. And there’s never a guarantee that past performance continues into the future.

As such, I think the vast majority of ASX investors would be better off sticking to these kinds of funds than experimenting with managed funds, LICs, or actively managed ETFs.

The post Do you invest in ASX managed funds? Here’s something I wish I knew 10 years ago appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has positions in Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended iShares S&P 500 ETF. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended iShares S&P 500 ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN) shares have been hit pretty hard this week, and Friday hasn’t brought much relief.

The stock is down another 1.04% to $53.54 in afternoon trade.

That takes its decline to around 12.6% over the past 5 sessions and more than 20% down in a month.

Interestingly, there hasn’t been a major company announcement this week to explain the selling.

So, what exactly is going on?

Lithium prices are sliding again

The first place I’d look is the lithium market, which has had a rough few weeks.

According to Trading Economics, lithium carbonate is currently trading around 134,300 yuan per tonne.

That leaves the commodity down more than 12% over the past month after a strong run through the first-half of 2026.

And Mineral Resources isn’t the only lithium stock being sold off.

PLS Group Ltd (ASX: PLS) shares are down 17.58% over the past month, while Liontown Resources Ltd(ASX: LTR) has fallen 21.35%.

Mineral Resources has plenty riding on lithium as well.

The segment generated $771 million of underlying EBITDA in FY26, helped by record sales volumes and higher prices.

What’s been hitting lithium?

A couple of developments out of China have knocked lithium prices around this month.

Earlier in September, Shanghai Metals Market changed the way it measures lithium carbonate inventories.

The survey now includes more traders, battery manufacturers and other holders than it did previously.

That quickly pushed reported inventories higher.

However, much of the increase came from the expanded survey itself.

Reuters also reported last week that China had temporarily paused approvals for new battery energy storage manufacturing projects.

The sector is now being reviewed before new projects are allowed to move ahead.

What about iron ore?

Iron ore doesn’t look like the reason Mineral Resources shares have been falling this week.

At the time of writing, iron ore is trading around US$97.42 per tonne.

That’s actually up around 2.3% over the past month, although the commodity is still 7.4% lower than a year ago.

And iron ore is now a huge part of the Mineral Resources business.

The division generated $1 billion of underlying EBITDA in FY26, making it the company’s biggest earnings contributor.

A large chunk of that came from Onslow Iron, which contributed $909 million after ramping up production during the year.

Mineral Resources is guiding for attributable iron ore sales of 20 million to 21.7 million tonnes in FY27.

The post Why has the Mineral Resources share price fallen 12% this week? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• ASX 200 drops again as selling continues
• Buy, hold, sell: Magellan, Iluka Resources, PLS Group shares

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

A CMC survey of more than 8,500 investors and traders has identified the four most popular ASX exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

The survey showed ASX shares investors are still buying despite today’s economic uncertainty and trading volatility.

The most common way people are adding to their portfolios is via ETFs, the survey found.

About 48% of respondents have raised their investment in ETFs compared to 38% for ASX shares and 21% for US stocks.

Investors felt the most confidence in ETFs when considering which asset classes would perform best over the next six months.

About 29% said they expected ETFs to do best, followed by US shares at 21%, global shares at 16%, ASX shares at 16%, and commodities at 14%.

Fraser Allan, Head of Premium Client Management at CMC, said index investing “has become the default”.

When investors and traders are uncertain, they’re not going to cash and they’re not stock-picking their way out of it.

They’re buying the market and getting diversified exposure to local and international markets through a handful of very large, very liquid ETFs.

CMC Invest’s 2026 H1 Inside Invest Report found four ASX ETFs account for about 75% of the top 10 orders placed by CMC clients.

Big 4 ASX exchange-traded funds

According to CMC, the most popular ETFs among its clients are as follows.

1. iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV)

IVV ETF tracks the American benchmark index, the S&P 500 Index (SP: INX).

The S&P 500 has substantially outperformed the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) over the past three years.

In fact, in FY26, US stocks delivered 3 times the total return of ASX 200 shares at 22% versus 7%.

Experts say the performance gap is attributable to the artificial intelligence (AI) investment boom led by the US.

IVV provides exposure to the AI ‘hyperscalers’, Meta Platforms, Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft shares.

The buy:sell split among CMC client orders in 1H FY26 was 94% to 6%.

IVV ETF has risen 5% in the calendar year to date (YTD).

2. Vanguard Msci Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS)

VGS ETF tracks the MSCI World ex-Australia (with net dividends reinvested) in Australian dollars Index.

This ASX ETF provides exposure to 1,300 international shares with an almost 80% leaning to the US market.

The buy:sell split among CMC client orders in 1H FY26 was 96% to 4%.

VGS ETF has increased 4% in the YTD.

3. Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS)

VAS ETF tracks the S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO), providing exposure to Australia’s 300 largest listed companies.

They include BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), and Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES).

The buy:sell split among CMC client orders in 1H FY26 was 93% to 7%.

VAS ETF has risen 1% in the YTD.

4. BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ)

NDQ ETF tracks the tech-heavy NASDAQ-100 Index (NASDAQ: NDX).

The buy:sell split among CMC client orders in 1H FY26 was 92% to 8%.

NDQ ETF has lifted 7% in the YTD.

The post 4 most popular ASX ETFs revealed: survey appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• How to make $26,000 of passive income from ASX shares
• 3 ASX ETFs for easy artificial intelligence (AI) exposure
• Worried about a downturn? 3 ASX shares and 3 ETFs built to weather it
• 3 reasons to buy the Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares (VGS) ETF
• Vanguard ETFs vs. Betashares ETFs: Who’s coming out on top?

Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has positions in Vanguard Msci Index International Shares ETF. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Alphabet, Amazon, BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Wesfarmers, and iShares S&P 500 ETF. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alphabet, Amazon, BHP Group, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Vanguard Msci Index International Shares ETF, Wesfarmers, and iShares S&P 500 ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.