The Best Vanguard ETFs to Buy
The best Vanguard ETFs all feature rock-bottom fees, large asset bases and long trading histories. Here are a few of our favorites.
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
Delivered daily
Kiplinger Today
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more delivered daily. Smart money moves start here.
Sent five days a week
Kiplinger A Step Ahead
Get practical help to make better financial decisions in your everyday life, from spending to savings on top deals.
Delivered daily
Kiplinger Closing Bell
Get today's biggest financial and investing headlines delivered to your inbox every day the U.S. stock market is open.
Sent twice a week
Kiplinger Adviser Intel
Financial pros across the country share best practices and fresh tactics to preserve and grow your wealth.
Delivered weekly
Kiplinger Tax Tips
Trim your federal and state tax bills with practical tax-planning and tax-cutting strategies.
Sent twice a week
Kiplinger Retirement Tips
Your twice-a-week guide to planning and enjoying a financially secure and richly rewarding retirement
Sent bimonthly.
Kiplinger Adviser Angle
Insights for advisers, wealth managers and other financial professionals.
Sent twice a week
Kiplinger Investing Weekly
Your twice-a-week roundup of promising stocks, funds, companies and industries you should consider, ones you should avoid, and why.
Sent weekly for six weeks
Kiplinger Invest for Retirement
Your step-by-step six-part series on how to invest for retirement, from devising a successful strategy to exactly which investments to choose.
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.
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just $107.88 $24.99, plus get up to 4 Special Issues
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
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 December 24.
ETF | Expense Ratio | Assets Under Management | Inception Date |
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) | 0.03% | $823.7 billion | September 7, 2010 |
Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) | 0.03% | $567.4 billion | May 24, 2001 |
Vanguard High Dividend Yield Index ETF (VYM) | 0.06% | $68.8 billion | November 10, 2006 |
Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT) | 0.09% | $112.0 billion | January 26, 2004 |
Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS) | 0.05% | $113.8 billion | January 26, 2011 |
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
- Assets under management: $823.7 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 , Nvidia (NVDA), Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT).
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: $567.4 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: $68.8 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: $112.0 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: $113.8 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.
Related content
-
How Much It Costs to Host a Super Bowl Party in 2026Hosting a Super Bowl party in 2026 could cost you. Here's a breakdown of food, drink and entertainment costs — plus ways to save.
-
3 Reasons to Use a 5-Year CD As You Approach RetirementA five-year CD can help you reach other milestones as you approach retirement.
-
Your Adult Kids Are Doing Fine. Is It Time To Spend Some of Their Inheritance?If your kids are successful, do they need an inheritance? Ask yourself these four questions before passing down another dollar.
-
The 4 Estate Planning Documents Every High-Net-Worth Family Needs (Not Just a Will)The key to successful estate planning for HNW families isn't just drafting these four documents, but ensuring they're current and immediately accessible.
-
Love and Legacy: What Couples Rarely Talk About (But Should)Couples who talk openly about finances, including estate planning, are more likely to head into retirement joyfully. How can you get the conversation going?
-
How to Get the Fair Value for Your Shares When You Are in the Minority Vote on a Sale of Substantially All Corporate AssetsWhen a sale of substantially all corporate assets is approved by majority vote, shareholders on the losing side of the vote should understand their rights.
-
Dow Leads in Mixed Session on Amgen Earnings: Stock Market TodayThe rest of Wall Street struggled as Advanced Micro Devices earnings caused a chip-stock sell-off.
-
How to Add a Pet Trust to Your Estate Plan: Don't Leave Your Best Friend to ChanceAdding a pet trust to your estate plan can ensure your pets are properly looked after when you're no longer able to care for them. This is how to go about it.
-
Want to Avoid Leaving Chaos in Your Wake? Don't Leave Behind an Outdated Estate PlanAn outdated or incomplete estate plan could cause confusion for those handling your affairs at a difficult time. This guide highlights what to update and when.
-
I'm a Financial Adviser: This Is Why I Became an Advocate for Fee-Only Financial AdviceCan financial advisers who earn commissions on product sales give clients the best advice? For one professional, changing track was the clear choice.
-
Nasdaq Slides 1.4% on Big Tech Questions: Stock Market TodayPalantir Technologies proves at least one publicly traded company can spend a lot of money on AI and make a lot of money on AI.
