ETF Guide · Australia

How to Invest in DHHF: Australia’s All-in-One Growth ETF Explained

By Lee · MoneyHackHQ founder · DHHF holder · Last updated 22 May 2026

DHHF has become one of the most popular ETFs in Australia for people who want a single, simple, globally diversified investment they can buy and hold for decades. It’s the fund I use for the core of my own investing, so this is a plain-English guide to what it actually holds, what it costs, the risks worth understanding, and how to buy it.

What is DHHF?

DHHF stands for the Betashares Diversified All Growth ETF. The idea behind it is simple: instead of buying several different ETFs to cover Australian shares, US shares, global shares and emerging markets — and then rebalancing them yourself — you buy one fund that does all of that for you.

It’s an “all-in-one” ETF: a 100% allocation to shares, built as a blend of underlying low-cost index ETFs. You buy and sell it on the ASX exactly like any share. For a lot of Australians who just want broad market exposure without managing a portfolio, that single-trade simplicity is the entire appeal.

What’s inside it?

DHHF spreads your money across roughly 8,000 companies worldwide, combining four broad buckets in one portfolio:

• Australian shares
• US shares
• Developed-market shares outside the US
• Emerging-market shares

Betashares sets a target allocation across these regions, reviews it annually, and rebalances the fund when the weights drift more than about 2% from target at the end of a quarter. So the global diversification is maintained for you automatically — you don’t have to top up the laggards or trim the winners yourself.

What does it cost?

The management fee is 0.19% p.a. — about $19 a year per $10,000 invested — which Betashares notes is the lowest among all-in-one diversified ETFs on the Australian market. That’s the fee for the entire diversified, auto-rebalancing structure, which is what makes DHHF compelling versus assembling and managing the pieces yourself.

On top of the fund’s own fee, what you pay to buy it depends on your platform. Through a traditional broker you’ll usually pay brokerage per trade; through Betashares Direct, DHHF is brokerage-free because it’s a Betashares fund. More on that below.

Distributions and franking

DHHF is built for long-term capital growth rather than income, but it still pays distributions quarterly. The disclosed 12-month distribution yield is around 2.2% (about 2.5% including franking credits). You can take distributions as cash or set up a distribution reinvestment plan (DRP) to automatically reinvest them — which is what most long-term holders do to compound their returns.

The risks you need to understand

This is the part that matters most, and it’s where DHHF gets misunderstood. It is not a balanced fund. There are no bonds, no cash, and no defensive allocation to cushion a downturn. If the sharemarket falls hard, DHHF should be expected to fall like a 100% equity portfolio — because that’s exactly what it is.

• Market risk: being all-growth, it can drop sharply in a bear market. That’s the trade-off for higher long-term growth potential.
• Currency risk: the overseas holdings generally aren’t hedged back to Australian dollars, so currency moves affect your returns.
• Asset-allocation risk: the chosen regional mix might underperform a different mix over a given period.

None of these make DHHF “bad” — they’re simply the nature of an all-equity fund. The key question is whether you can stay invested and not panic-sell when (not if) it has a bad year. If a 30%+ paper loss in a crash would make you bail, an all-growth fund probably isn’t the right core holding for you.

Who DHHF suits (and who it doesn’t)

A good fit if you: have a long time horizon (think 7+ years), want one simple fund rather than a portfolio to manage, are comfortable riding out volatility, and are still in the wealth-building phase rather than drawing an income.

Probably not ideal if you: need stability or income soon, are close to or in retirement, or would lose sleep over a sharp drop. In those cases a multi-asset fund that includes bonds (a more “balanced” option) may suit better. There’s no single right answer — it depends on your timeline and temperament.

How to buy DHHF

Because DHHF trades on the ASX, you can buy it through any Australian share-trading platform or broker. The only real difference between platforms is what they charge you in brokerage and whether your holdings are CHESS-sponsored.

The cheapest way to buy and regularly top up DHHF is through Betashares Direct, where it’s brokerage-free (it’s Betashares’ own fund) and you can set up automatic recurring investments and fractional purchases from $10. That suits the buy-a-bit-every-month approach DHHF is designed for. The trade-off is that Betashares Direct is custodial rather than CHESS-sponsored — we explain exactly what that means in our full review.

Prefer your shares CHESS-sponsored under your own HIN? You can buy DHHF through a traditional CHESS broker instead — you’ll just typically pay brokerage per trade.

FAQ

Is DHHF a good investment?

For a long-term, hands-off investor comfortable with volatility, it’s a popular low-cost core holding because it bundles global diversification into one fund. Whether it’s right for you depends on your time horizon and risk tolerance — it’s all growth, so it’s not designed for short-term safety or income.

DHHF vs DHHF alternatives like VDHG?

The main difference between all-in-one funds is the bond allocation. DHHF is 100% growth (no bonds); some alternatives hold a slice of bonds for a slightly smoother ride. More bonds means lower expected long-term return but less volatility. Neither is “better” — it’s about how much volatility you want to carry.

What’s the minimum to invest in DHHF?

On the ASX through a broker you generally need enough for at least one unit (plus brokerage). On Betashares Direct you can buy fractional units from $10, which is why it suits small, regular investments.

Does DHHF pay dividends?

It pays distributions (the ETF equivalent) quarterly, currently yielding around 2.2%. You can reinvest them automatically via a DRP to compound your holding over time.