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Should You Invest in the Vanguard Industrials ETF (VIS)?

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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Industrials - Broad segment of the equity market, the Vanguard Industrials ETF (VIS - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 09/23/2004.

Retail and institutional investors increasingly turn to passively managed ETFs because they offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; these kind of funds are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.

Sector ETFs also provide investors access to a broad group of companies in particular sectors that offer low risk and diversified exposure. Industrials - Broad is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 12, placing it in bottom 25%.

Index Details

The fund is sponsored by Vanguard. It has amassed assets over $6 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Industrials - Broad segment of the equity market. VIS seeks to match the performance of the MSCI US Investable Market Industrials 25/50 Index before fees and expenses.

The MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Industrials 25/50 is made up of stocks of large, mid-size, and small U.S. companies within the industrials sector.

Costs

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts if all other fundamentals are the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.10%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.14%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Industrials sector--about 99.90% of the portfolio.

Looking at individual holdings, General Electric Co (GE - Free Report) accounts for about 3.76% of total assets, followed by Caterpillar Inc (CAT - Free Report) and Rtx Corp (RTX - Free Report) .

Performance and Risk

The ETF has gained about 27.12% so far this year and is up roughly 38.36% in the last one year (as of 11/28/2024). In that past 52-week period, it has traded between $202.94 and $279.20.

The ETF has a beta of 1.10 and standard deviation of 18.23% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 385 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Vanguard Industrials ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, VIS is a great option for investors seeking exposure to the Industrials ETFs segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ETF (AIRR - Free Report) tracks Richard Bernstein Advisors American Industrial Renaissance Index and the Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI - Free Report) tracks Industrial Select Sector Index. First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ETF has $2.74 billion in assets, Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF has $22.06 billion. AIRR has an expense ratio of 0.70% and XLI charges 0.09%.

Bottom Line

To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.

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