what are vanguard exchange traded funds 
vanguard exchange traded funds etfs are a class of funds offered by vanguard exchange traded funds combine the diversification of mutual funds with a lower investment minimum required vanguard also offers real time pricing etfs are traded the same way that individual stocks are traded understanding vanguard exchange traded fundsthere are currently more than 50 vanguard exchange traded funds which are traded like any other shares on the u s stock exchanges such as the new york stock exchange nyse or nasdaq their underlying indexes cover both individual sectors such as materials and energy and domestic and international indexes the vanguard etfs were previously known as vanguard index participation receipts vipers in their current form vanguard etfs aim to track their underlying indexes as closely as possible and offer the flexibility of intraday trading by developing this class of low cost funds vanguard sought to bring its longstanding leadership in the passive management market to the etf space etfs can have thousands of stocks or bonds in a single fund so they provide more flexibility for portfolios they include all the benefits of an index fund but provide more control for the individual investor types of vanguard exchange traded fundsvanguard offers a range of etf products that are focused on u s stocks these etfs can further be broken down into the size of the companies they target large cap mid cap or small cap these funds can also be broken down into the performance of the companies that they invest in growth etfs invest in stocks with above average growth rates value etfs invest in companies with below average valuations and finally blend etfs invest in a combination of growth and value etfs for example the vanguard dividend appreciation etf invests in large cap companies this fund is comprised of a blend of value and growth stocks it has an expense ratio of 0 06 and a dividend yield of 1 71 as of sept 30 2021 1vanguard has three types of international etfs global international and emerging markets global stock etfs invest in stocks from all around the world including the u s international stock etfs invest in stocks from all around the world with the exception of the u s emerging market etfs invest only in stocks from developing countries for example the vanguard international high dividend yield etf invests in the international market its expense ratio is 0 28 and its dividend yield is 4 08 as of sept 30 2021 2vanguard s sector etfs are stock based etfs that invest in indexes tracking specific sectors of the economy some of these sectors include telecommunications energy materials information technology it and healthcare the advantage of choosing a sector based etf is that investors can target a certain part of the market without the risk and research involved in choosing individual companies to invest in for example if you think the banking business as a whole will perform well in the coming months you might invest in the vanguard financials etf it has an expense ratio of 0 10 and a dividend yield of 1 69 as of sept 30 2021 3for investors that want to allocate their investment assets to an age appropriate combination of stocks and bonds vanguard offers 15 different etfs focused on u s bonds they can be split into four main categories government bonds investment grade corporate bonds a blend of these two government and corporate and tax exempt bonds government bonds tend to pay relatively low dividend yields when compared with corporate bonds however they also have a significantly lower risk of default while corporate bonds pay relatively high interest rates they also have a higher risk of default than government bonds finally vanguard s tax exempt etf bond category is ideal for investors who hold their investments in taxable brokerage accounts and are in relatively high tax brackets exchange traded funds etfs vs stocks vs mutual fundsowning an etf is similar to owning a mutual fund individual stocks or bonds offer the same built in diversification and low costs the funds are also tradable like individual stocks compared with stocks and bonds however etfs offer less risk and less ongoing maintenance vanguard s mix of preselected stocks or bonds means that if one stock or bond in the fund performs poorly others are likely performing well also investors can leave security selection to professional fund managers both mutual funds and etfs are less risky than investing in individual stocks and bonds and they offer a wide variety of options to meet specific investment goals however compared with standard mutual funds etfs have some unique characteristics that might make them appealing to some investors for example vanguard s etfs are managed by portfolio professionals and are commission free in addition etfs require smaller investment minimums to start with they also offer real time intraday pricing assessing minute by minute changes whenever they re bought and sold whereas mutual funds are only priced at the close of a trading day 