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Should You Invest in the Vanguard Financials ETF (VFH)?
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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Financials - Broad segment of the equity market, the Vanguard Financials ETF (VFH - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 01/26/2004.
While an excellent vehicle for long term investors, passively managed ETFs are a popular choice among institutional and retail investors due to their low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency.
Sector ETFs also provide investors access to a broad group of companies in particular sectors that offer low risk and diversified exposure. Financials - Broad is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 1, placing it in top 6%.
Index Details
The fund is sponsored by Vanguard. It has amassed assets over $9.06 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Financials - Broad segment of the equity market. VFH seeks to match the performance of the MSCI US Investable Market Financials 25/50 Index before fees and expenses.
The MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Financials 25/50 measures the investment return of stocks in the financial sector.
Costs
Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts, other things remaining the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.10%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.10%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Financials sector--about 100% of the portfolio.
Looking at individual holdings, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B - Free Report) accounts for about 8.56% of total assets, followed by Jpmorgan Chase & Co. (JPM - Free Report) and Bank Of America Corp. (BAC - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 39.79% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has lost about -11.06% so far this year and is down about -11.69% in the last one year (as of 11/18/2022). In that past 52-week period, it has traded between $74.44 and $101.75.
The ETF has a beta of 1.10 and standard deviation of 32.16% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 372 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
Vanguard Financials ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, VFH is a great option for investors seeking exposure to the Financials ETFs segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.
IShares U.S. Financials ETF (IYF - Free Report) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Financials Index and the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF - Free Report) tracks Financial Select Sector Index. IShares U.S. Financials ETF has $2.12 billion in assets, Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF has $32.64 billion. IYF has an expense ratio of 0.39% and XLF charges 0.10%.
Bottom Line
To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.
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Should You Invest in the Vanguard Financials ETF (VFH)?
Designed to provide broad exposure to the Financials - Broad segment of the equity market, the Vanguard Financials ETF (VFH - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 01/26/2004.
While an excellent vehicle for long term investors, passively managed ETFs are a popular choice among institutional and retail investors due to their low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency.
Sector ETFs also provide investors access to a broad group of companies in particular sectors that offer low risk and diversified exposure. Financials - Broad is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 1, placing it in top 6%.
Index Details
The fund is sponsored by Vanguard. It has amassed assets over $9.06 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Financials - Broad segment of the equity market. VFH seeks to match the performance of the MSCI US Investable Market Financials 25/50 Index before fees and expenses.
The MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Financials 25/50 measures the investment return of stocks in the financial sector.
Costs
Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts, other things remaining the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.10%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.10%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Financials sector--about 100% of the portfolio.
Looking at individual holdings, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B - Free Report) accounts for about 8.56% of total assets, followed by Jpmorgan Chase & Co. (JPM - Free Report) and Bank Of America Corp. (BAC - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 39.79% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has lost about -11.06% so far this year and is down about -11.69% in the last one year (as of 11/18/2022). In that past 52-week period, it has traded between $74.44 and $101.75.
The ETF has a beta of 1.10 and standard deviation of 32.16% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 372 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
Vanguard Financials ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, VFH is a great option for investors seeking exposure to the Financials ETFs segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.
IShares U.S. Financials ETF (IYF - Free Report) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Financials Index and the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF - Free Report) tracks Financial Select Sector Index. IShares U.S. Financials ETF has $2.12 billion in assets, Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF has $32.64 billion. IYF has an expense ratio of 0.39% and XLF charges 0.10%.
Bottom Line
To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.