The Best Vanguard ETFs to Buy

Vanguard is the No. 2 asset manager in the world. The best Vanguard ETFs are among the largest and most respected investment vehicles on Wall Street.

With more than $10 trillion in assets under management, the revolutionary firm trails only BlackRock and by a modest margin.

Vanguard founder John C. Bogle is credited with popularizing low-cost, passive funds, and the best Vanguard ETFs are generally index funds that stick to a fixed list of components rather than engage in costly or complex strategies.

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The funds aren’t flashy, and a consistent and predictable approach might bore some investors, traders and speculators.

But it's hard to argue with the long-term outperformance of the low-cost, index-fund-based strategy.

What makes for the best Vanguard ETFs?

A long-term, hands-off approach: Many exchange-traded funds claim to provide outperformance by overlaying complex screening methods onto the stock market and changing out holdings based on the latest info.

Most research shows this "active management" approach is ineffective, however. According to data from S&P Dow Jones Indices (PDF), the majority of actively managed funds involving large-cap stocks have underperformed the S&P 500 Index on an annual basis going back to 2010.

Minimize fees to maximize profits: The challenge with active funds is simple. Even if you do get a small amount of outperformance, the related expenses — tax inefficiency and higher brokerage fees, for example — erode those profits.

Investors should consider the opportunity cost higher fees create. Every penny you pay in fees reduces current profits, and it erases cash that could be invested to grow over time.

The best Vanguard ETFs put more of your cash to work for you instead of your overpriced asset manager.

Don't forget DRIP: A dividend re-investment program, or DRIP, re-invests profits from your investments rather than having it sit idle in your account. The best Vanguard ETFs offer a no-fee, no-commission re-investment program that allows you to reinvest your distributions and supercharge your returns over time.

The best Vanguard ETFs to buy now

The Vanguard funds included here all feature rock-bottom fees, large asset bases and long trading histories.

Data is as of September 9.

Vanguard S&P 500 ETF

• Assets under management: $734.3 billion
• Expense ratio: 0.03%, or $3 per year for every $10,000 invested

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is the oldest S&P 500 index fund out there, but the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) recently surpassed it as the largest ETF as measured by assets. VOO remains the go-to option for most long-term investors, thanks to its low-cost structure and its exposure to the biggest names on Wall Street.

SPY charges 0.09% annually vs just 0.03% for VOO. Both are passively managed funds tied to the S&P 500 Index of the largest U.S. corporations.

There's no reason for most small-time investors to pay more for exposure to the exact same holdings. That list is led by must-own names such as Microsoft (MSFT), Nvidia (NVDA) and Apple (AAPL).

If you want to play the U.S. stock market through the years to come and do it efficiently, this is one of the best Vanguard ETFs to buy right now.

Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF

• Assets under management: $527.5 billion
• Expense ratio: 0.03%

Nearly as large but just as cheap, the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) is a one-stop shop for investors who want exposure to the whole U.S. stock market in a single vehicle. More than 3,500 different stocks make up this fund, representing all sectors up and down the market-cap scale.

The Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF doesn't treat every component equally, however. It's weighted heavily toward the largest stocks, so no small start-up is going to sink your portfolio.

It's the largest ETF by assets outside the massive S&P 500 index funds such as VOO. A well-established, more diversified option for buy-and-hold investors, VTI is one of the best Vanguard ETFs to buy right now.

Vanguard High Dividend Yield Index ETF

• Assets under management: $64.4 billion
• Expense ratio: 0.06%

Slightly smaller than VTI but still with tens of billions of dollars under management, the Vanguard High Dividend Yield Index ETF (VYM) is one of the best Vanguard funds to buy for investors looking to reduce their risk profile and tap into long-term income potential.

VYM focuses on stocks that pay above-average dividends, with a total yield of about 2.5% right now that's about two times the dividend yield of the S&P 500.

Apart from the regular income, dividend investment strategies highlight companies capable of consistent profit and payout growth. These businesses generate ample cash flow, often based on operational excellence.

VYM is well-diversified, with about 580 total holdings. But it’s biased toward the financial sector, with about a quarter of assets in banks and insurers.

Top holdings include chipmaker Broadcom (AVGO), megabank JPMorganChase (JPM) and energy icon ExxonMobil (XOM). These blue-chip names are good ballast for one of the best Vanguard ETFs.

Vanguard Information Technology ETF

• Assets under management: $100.5 billion
• Expense ratio: 0.09%

The flip side of low-risk dividend investing is speculating in high-growth tech stocks, with an emphasis on plowing cash into future opportunities rather than returning profits to shareholders.

That's what the Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT) has to offer: Tech exposure to the exclusion of all others.

VGT's portfolio is composed of roughly 320 different stocks in the sector, ranging from the big names you know and love, such as Microsoft and Apple, as well as Nvidia, plus smaller hardware manufacturers and software firms.

If you take a long view of the stock market, it's difficult to imagine tech stocks won't continue to be the biggest and most successful companies. Their business models are light on raw materials and employees, and they're satisfying what seems an ever-expanding appetite for disruption.

If you're bullish on the high-tech future of AI, cloud computing and similar processes, VGT is one of the best Vanguard ETFs to buy now.

Vanguard Total International Stock ETF

• Assets under management: $101.9 billion
• Expense ratio: $0.05%

Each of the four funds we've discussed so far slices up the U.S. stock market in different but efficient ways.

Businesses beyond America's borders have a lot to offer, too. That's become particularly clear so far in 2025, with Asian and European stocks outperforming U.S. big tech and blue chip stocks.

The Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS) gets you that overseas exposure. VXUS is an "ex-U.S." offering designed to exclude companies in the United States and to ensure holdings don't overlap with any domestic stock ETFs.

A massive portfolio of more than 8,600 stocks includes plenty of familiar names, such as Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM), China-based Tencent Holdings (TCEHY), Germany-based SAP (SAP) and Netherlands-based ASML Holding (ASML).

Big international businesses such as these often provide just as much upside as U.S. names. Broadening your exposure via these overseas stocks can help smooth out volatility for you and your portfolio.

VXUS is one of the best Vanguard ETFs to buy because it accomplishes those worthy objectives.

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