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Should Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO - Free Report) was launched on 09/09/2010, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by Vanguard. It has amassed assets over $273.88 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Blend

Large cap companies usually have a market capitalization above $10 billion. They tend to be stable companies with predictable cash flows and are usually less volatile than mid and small cap companies.

Blend ETFs are aptly named, since they tend to hold a mix of growth and value stocks, as well as show characteristics of both kinds of equities.

Costs

Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.03%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.23%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector--about 28.50% of the portfolio. Consumer Discretionary and Healthcare round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc. (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 6.04% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp. (MSFT - Free Report) and Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 11.79% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

VOO seeks to match the performance of the S&P 500 Index before fees and expenses. The S&P 500 Index measures the performance of the large-capitalization sector of the U.S. equity market.

The ETF has added about 28.40% so far this year and is up about 31.14% in the last one year (as of 11/17/2021). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $326.49 and $431.41.

The ETF has a beta of 0.99 and standard deviation of 22.82% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 512 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Vanguard S&P 500 ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, VOO is an outstanding option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV - Free Report) and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY - Free Report) track the same index. While iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $325.92 billion in assets, SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $427.24 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and SPY charges 0.09%.

Bottom-Line

Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are excellent vehicles for long term investors.

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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