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Should Vanguard S&P Small-Cap 600 Value ETF (VIOV) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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If you're interested in broad exposure to the Small Cap Value segment of the US equity market, look no further than the Vanguard S&P Small-Cap 600 Value ETF (VIOV - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on September 9, 2010.

The fund is sponsored by Vanguard. It has amassed assets over $1.41 billion, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Value segment of the US equity market.

Why Small Cap Value

Small cap companies have market capitalization below $2 billion. They usually have higher potential than large and mid cap companies with stocks but higher risk.

Carrying lower than average price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios, value stocks also have lower than average sales and earnings growth rates. While value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in nearly all markets when you consider long-term performance, growth stocks are more likely to outpace value 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 0.1%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.68%.

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 21.2% of the portfolio. Information Technology and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Sandisk Corp (SNDK) accounts for about 2.1% of total assets, followed by Mr Cooper Group Inc (COOP) and Borgwarner Inc (BWA).

The top 10 holdings account for about 8.68% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

VIOV seeks to match the performance of the S&P SmallCap 600 Value Index before fees and expenses. The S&P SmallCap 600 Value Index represents the value companies of the S&P SmallCap 600 Index.

The ETF has gained about 2.97% so far this year and it's up approximately 6.1% in the last one year (as of 11/03/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $71.94 and $101.38.

The ETF has a beta of 1.08 and standard deviation of 21.95% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 462 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Vanguard S&P Small-Cap 600 Value 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, VIOV is a great option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Value segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF (IWN) and the Vanguard Small-Cap Value ETF (VBR) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF has $11.73 billion in assets, Vanguard Small-Cap Value ETF has $31.11 billion. IWN has an expense ratio of 0.24% and VBR charges 0.07%.

Bottom-Line

Retail and institutional investors increasingly turn to passively managed ETFs because they offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; these kind of funds are also 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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