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Should Vanguard Extended Market ETF (VXF) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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The Vanguard Extended Market ETF (VXF - Free Report) was launched on 12/27/2001, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Mid Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by Vanguard. It has amassed assets over $15.81 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the Mid Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

Why Mid Cap Blend

Compared to large and small cap companies, mid cap businesses tend to have higher growth prospects and are less volatile, respectively, with market capitalization between $2 billion and $10 billion. These types of companies, then, have a good balance of stability and growth potential.

Typically holding a combination of both growth and value stocks, blend ETFs also demonstrate qualities seen in value and growth investments.

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 0.06%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.37%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

ETFs offer a diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector--about 18.60% of the portfolio. Industrials and Financials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Uber Technologies Inc. (UBER - Free Report) accounts for about 1.30% of total assets, followed by Palo Alto Networks Inc. (PANW - Free Report) and Blackstone Inc. (BX - Free Report) .

Performance and Risk

VXF seeks to match the performance of the S&P Completion Index before fees and expenses. The S&P Completion Index contains all of the U.S. common stocks regularly traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq over-the-counter market, except those stocks included in the S&P 500 Index.

The ETF has added about 14.44% so far this year and is up about 8.08% in the last one year (as of 09/01/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $126.36 and $157.63.

The ETF has a beta of 1.19 and standard deviation of 23.79% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 3627 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Vanguard Extended Market ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, VXF is a sufficient option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Blend area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF (VO - Free Report) and the iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF (IJH - Free Report) track a similar index. While Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF has $54.54 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF has $74.63 billion. VO has an expense ratio of 0.04% and IJH charges 0.05%.

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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