One of the enduring appeals of using ASX exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to build an investing portfolio is an ETF’s hands-off nature.

Simple index funds like the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS) aim to always mirror the holdings of the index they are tracking. In VAS’s case, that’s the S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO). This means that, at any given time, VAS represents an investment in the largest 300 shares on the ASX.

These are rebalanced every three months to ensure that these holdings are accurate. In this way, the ETF investor never has to worry about stock picking themselves. They can just forget about the ETF entirely if they so wish, safe in the knowledge that they are ensured the average return of the Australian stock…