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Should Vanguard Russell 2000 ETF (VTWO) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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If you're interested in broad exposure to the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market, look no further than the Vanguard Russell 2000 ETF (VTWO - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 09/22/2010.

The fund is sponsored by Vanguard. It has amassed assets over $10.26 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

Why Small Cap Blend

There's a lot of potential to investing in small cap companies, but with market capitalization below $2 billion, that high potential comes with even higher risk.

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

Costs

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts if all other fundamentals are 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 0.98%.

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 to the Financials sector--about 18% of the portfolio. Healthcare and Industrials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Slbbh1142 accounts for about 1.84% of total assets, followed by Mktliq and Insmed Inc (INSM - Free Report) .

Performance and Risk

VTWO seeks to match the performance of the Russell 2000 Index before fees and expenses. The Russell 2000 Index measures the performance of the small-cap segment of the U.S. equity universe.

The ETF return is roughly 10.67% so far this year and it's up approximately 26.80% in the last one year (as of 09/24/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $65.62 and $90.77.

The ETF has a beta of 1.14 and standard deviation of 23.02% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 1999 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Vanguard Russell 2000 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, VTWO is a good option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Blend area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM - Free Report) and the iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 2000 ETF has $71.04 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF has $86.18 billion. IWM has an expense ratio of 0.19% and IJR charges 0.06%.

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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