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

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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Large Cap Value segment of the US equity market, the Vanguard S&P 500 Value ETF (VOOV - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 09/09/2010.

The fund is sponsored by Vanguard. It has amassed assets over $2.79 billion, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Value segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Value

Companies that fall in the large cap category tend to have a market capitalization above $10 billion. Overall, they are usually a stable option, with less risk and more sure-fire cash flows than mid and small cap companies.

Carrying lower than average price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios, value stocks also have lower than average sales and earnings growth rates. Looking at their long-term performance, value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in almost all markets. They are however likely to underperform growth stocks in strong bull markets.

Costs

When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts in the long term if all other factors remain equal.

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 2.19%.

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 Healthcare sector--about 19.30% of the portfolio. Financials and Consumer Staples round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Accounts for about 3.04% of total assets, followed by Johnson & Johnson (JNJ - Free Report) and Procter & Gamble Co. (PG - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 11.97% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

VOOV seeks to match the performance of the S&P 500 Value Index before fees and expenses. The S&P 500 Value Index measures the performance of large capitalization value stocks.

The ETF has lost about -10.85% so far this year and is down about -2.85% in the last one year (as of 07/11/2022). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $129.51 and $153.78.

The ETF has a beta of 0.94 and standard deviation of 23.59% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 452 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Vanguard S&P 500 Value 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, VOOV is a great option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF (IWD - Free Report) and the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF has $51.70 billion in assets, Vanguard Value ETF has $94.39 billion. IWD has an expense ratio of 0.19% and VTV charges 0.04%.

Bottom-Line

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.

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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