8 Great Vanguard ETFs for a Low-Cost Core

Vanguard is best known as one of the foremost pioneers of low-cost investing, including in the exchange-traded fund (ETF) space.

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(Image credit: Courtesy of Vanguard)

Vanguard is best known as one of the foremost pioneers of low-cost investing, including in the exchange-traded fund (ETF) space. It's hardly alone in low costs anymore, of course. Providers such as Schwab, iShares and SPDR have all hacked away at each other with ever-shrinking fees.

But don't sleep on Vanguard ETFs.

The provider isn't always No. 1 among the cheapest index funds like it used to be, but it remains a low-cost leader across several classes. No matter where you look, it's usually among the least expensive funds you can buy.

And expenses matter. Let's say you put $100,000 into Fund A and another $100,000 into Fund B. Both funds gain 8% annually, but Fund A charges 1% in fees while Fund B charges 0.5%. In 30 years, that investment in Fund A will be worth a respectable $744,335. But Fund B? It'll be worth $865,775. That's about $120,000 lost to fees and missed opportunity cost as those expenses suck away returns that could compound over time.

Here, then, are eight of the best low-cost Vanguard ETFs that investors can use as part of a core portfolio. All of these index funds are among the least expensive in their class and offer wide exposure to their respective market areas.

Data is as of April 22. Yields represent the trailing 12-month yield, which is a standard measure for equity funds. All eight ETFs also are available from Vanguard as mutual funds.

Kyle Woodley

Kyle Woodley is the Editor-in-Chief of Young and The Invested, a site dedicated to improving the personal finances and financial literacy of parents and children. He also writes the weekly The Weekend Tea newsletter, which covers both news and analysis about spending, saving, investing, the economy and more.


Kyle was previously the Senior Investing Editor for Kiplinger.com, and the Managing Editor for InvestorPlace.com before that. His work has appeared in several outlets, including Yahoo! Finance, MSN Money, Barchart, The Globe & Mail and the Nasdaq. He also has appeared as a guest on Fox Business Network and Money Radio, among other shows and podcasts, and he has been quoted in several outlets, including MarketWatch, Vice and Univision. He is a proud graduate of The Ohio State University, where he earned a BA in journalism. 


You can check out his thoughts on the markets (and more) at @KyleWoodley.