investment products

ETFs

Our ETFs (exchange-traded funds) combine the diversification of mutual funds with real-time pricing—all with an investment minimum of just $1.

Found an ETF that's right for you?

What’s an ETF?

An ETF is a collection of hundreds or thousands of stocks or bonds, managed by experts, in a single fund that trades on major stock exchanges, like the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq.

Vanguard ETF strategies

A strategy is the general or specific approach to investing based off your goals, risk tolerance, and time horizon. See what’s best for you.

Core ETFs

Build a fully diversified portfolio with our 4 total market ETFs that cover nearly all aspects of the U.S. and international stock and bond markets.

ESG ETFs

Complement your portfolio with funds that reflect your personal preferences and consider environmental, social, and governance issues (ESG).

Short-term ETFs

These ETFs offer higher risk and reward potential than cash investments. 

Pay $0 commission to trade ETFs & stocks online in your Vanguard Brokerage Account

Trade every Vanguard ETF® and about 1,800 ETFs from other companies commission-free through your Vanguard Brokerage Account.

See more on costs, fees & commissions

Competitive long-term returns

Over the past 10 years, 83% of Vanguard ETFs® beat the returns of their peer-group averages.*

Better prices for your trades

Of all Vanguard ETF Shares bought and sold through a Vanguard account, 98% were executed at a better price than the quoted market price.**

Lower taxes

In the past 5 years, 85% of all Vanguard ETFs have had no taxable capital gains distributions.***

Lower expense ratios

Our average ETF expense ratio is 75% less than the industry average.†

Help your money grow at Vanguard

Investing in ETFs offers benefits you may not get from trading individual stocks and bonds on your own.

Over the past 10 years, 80% of Vanguard ETFs® beat the returns of their peer-group averages.*

Of all Vanguard ETF Shares bought and sold with a Vanguard account, 98% of the trades were executed at a better price than the quoted market price.**

In the past 5 years, 85% of all Vanguard ETFs have had no taxable gains distributions.***

Our average ETF expense ratio is 75% less than the industry average.†

Want to learn more about ETFs?

ETFs & mutual funds: A comparison

There are funds for every investor. Find one that’s right for you.

Choosing between funds & individual securities

You can choose to add both to your portfolio. See why it matters.

How much should you invest in stocks or bonds?

See how 9 model portfolios have performed in the past.

Ready to invest in an ETF?
New to Vanguard or looking to consolidate your savings?

Already a Vanguard client?  Log in to view your account.

Ready to invest in an ETF?

New to Vanguard or looking to consolidate your savings?


Already a Vanguard client?  Log in to view your account.

Explore professional advice

We offer expert help at the low cost you'd expect from Vanguard.

*For the 10-year period ended December 31, 2022, 41 of 52 Vanguard stock ETFs and 11 of 13 Vanguard bond ETFs—for a total of 52 of 65 Vanguard ETFs—outperformed their Lipper peer-group averages. Results will vary for other time periods. Only ETFs with a minimum 10-year history were included in the comparison. Source: Lipper, a Thomson Reuters Company. The competitive performance data shown represent past performance, which is not a guarantee of future results. View ETF performance.

**Source: IHS Markit RegOne. Includes market orders entered from January 2, 2020, through December 31, 2020, during market hours with share sizes from 1 to 1,999. Excludes orders received during locked, crossed, or fast markets or during destination outages.

***Source: Morningstar, Inc., as of December 31, 2020.

†Vanguard average ETF expense ratio: 0.06%. Industry average ETF expense ratio: 0.24%. All averages are asset-weighted. Industry averages exclude Vanguard. Sources: Vanguard and Morningstar, Inc., as of December 31, 2021.

For more information about Vanguard funds or ETFs, visit vanguard.com to obtain a prospectus or, if available, a summary prospectus. Investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses, and other important information about a fund are contained in the prospectus; read and consider it carefully before investing.

All investing is subject to risk, including the possible loss of the money you invest. Diversification does not ensure a profit or protect against a loss.

Morningstar designated 9 Vanguard ETFs as 5-star ETFs with risk-adjusted returns in the top 10% of their peer groups and 30 Vanguard ETFs as 4-star ETFs with risk-adjusted returns in the top third of their peer groups (December 31, 2022).

The Morningstar Rating™ for funds, or "star rating," is calculated for managed products (including mutual funds, variable annuity and variable life subaccounts, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, and separate accounts) with at least a three-year history. Exchange-traded funds and open-ended mutual funds are considered a single population for comparative purposes. It is calculated based on a Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return measure that accounts for variation in a managed product's monthly excess performance, placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The top 10% of products in each product category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars, and the bottom 10% receive 1 star.

The Overall Morningstar Rating for a managed product is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its three-, five-, and ten-year (if applicable) Morningstar Rating metrics. The weights are: 100% three-year rating for 36–59 months of total returns, 60% five-year rating/40% three-year rating for 60–119 months of total returns, and 50% ten-year rating/30% five-year rating/20% three-year rating for 120 or more months of total returns. While the ten-year overall star rating formula seems to give the most weight to the ten-year period, the most recent three-year period actually has the greatest impact because it is included in all three rating periods.

You must buy and sell Vanguard ETF Shares through Vanguard Brokerage Services (we offer them commission-free) or through another broker (which may charge commissions). See the Vanguard Brokerage Services commission and fee schedule for full details. Vanguard ETF Shares are not redeemable directly with the issuing fund other than in very large aggregations worth millions of dollars. ETFs are subject to market volatility. When buying or selling an ETF, you will pay or receive the current market price, which may be more or less than net asset value.

Investments in stocks or bonds issued by non-U.S. companies are subject to risks including country/regional risk and currency risk.

Bond funds are subject to the risk that an issuer will fail to make payments on time, and that bond prices will decline because of rising interest rates or negative perceptions of an issuer's ability to make payments. 

ESG funds are subject to ESG investment risk, which is the chance that the stocks or bonds screened by the index provider for ESG criteria generally will underperform the market as a whole or, in the aggregate, will trail returns of other funds screened for ESG criteria. The index provider’s assessment of a company, based on the company’s level of involvement in a particular industry or the index provider’s own ESG criteria, may differ from that of other funds or of the advisor’s or an investor’s assessment of such company. As a result, the companies deemed eligible by the index provider may not reflect the beliefs and values of any particular investor and may not exhibit positive or favorable ESG characteristics. The evaluation of companies for ESG screening or integration is dependent on the timely and accurate reporting of ESG data by the companies. Successful application of the screens will depend on the index provider’s proper indentation and analysis of ESG data.

Vanguard's advice services are provided by Vanguard Advisers, Inc. ("VAI"), a registered investment advisor, or by Vanguard National Trust Company ("VNTC"), a federally chartered, limited-purpose trust company.

The services provided to clients will vary based upon the service selected, including management, fees, eligibility, and access to an advisor. Find VAI's Form CRS and each program's advisory brochure here for an overview.

VAI and VNTC are subsidiaries of The Vanguard Group, Inc., and affiliates of Vanguard Marketing Corporation. Neither VAI, VNTC, nor its affiliates guarantee profits or protection from losses.