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Should You Invest in the Vanguard Industrials ETF (VIS)?

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Looking for broad exposure to the Industrials - Broad segment of the equity market? You should consider the Vanguard Industrials ETF (VIS - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on September 23, 2004.

An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.

Additionally, sector ETFs offer convenient ways to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Industrials - Broad is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 14, placing it in bottom 13%.

Index Details

The fund is sponsored by Vanguard. It has amassed assets over $6.31 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Industrials - Broad segment of the equity market. VIS seeks to match the performance of the MSCI US Investable Market Industrials 25/50 Index before fees and expenses.

The MSCI US Investable Market Industrials 25/50 Index measures the investment return of industrial stocks.

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 0.09%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.07%.

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 in the Industrials sector -- about 99.9% of the portfolio.

Looking at individual holdings, General Electric Co (GE) accounts for about 5.25% of total assets, followed by Caterpillar Inc (CAT) and Rtx Corp (RTX).

Performance and Risk

So far this year, VIS has gained about 17.23%, and is up about 10.5% in the last one year (as of 12/10/2025). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $220.04 and $301.69.

The ETF has a beta of 1.08 and standard deviation of 16.69% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 389 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Vanguard Industrials 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, VIS is an outstanding option for investors seeking exposure to the Industrials ETFs segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ETF (AIRR) tracks Richard Bernstein Advisors American Industrial Renaissance Index and the Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI) tracks Industrial Select Sector Index. First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ETF has $6.33 billion in assets, Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF has $24.78 billion. AIRR has an expense ratio of 0.7%, and XLI charges 0.08%.

Bottom Line

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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