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Is Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index Fund ETF Shares (VIG) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Launched on 04/21/2006, the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index Fund ETF Shares (VIG - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment.
Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.
If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.
These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Vanguard, and has been able to amass over $98.02 billion, which makes it one of the largest ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. VIG, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the NASDAQ US Dividend Achievers Select Index.
The S&P U.S. Dividend Growers Index consists of common stocks of companies that have a record of increasing dividends over time.
Cost & Other Expenses
For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.04%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
VIG's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 1.67%.
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.
For VIG, it has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector --about 25.6% of the portfolio --while Financials and Healthcare round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Broadcom Inc (AVGO) accounts for about 6.24% of the fund's total assets, followed by Apple Inc (AAPL) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT).
Performance and Risk
The ETF has lost about -3.1% and is up about 11.32% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 03/23/2026), respectively. VIG has traded between $173.71 and $229.69 during this last 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 0.84 and standard deviation of 12.10% for the trailing three-year period, which makes VIG a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 342 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index Fund ETF Shares is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
Invesco S&P 500 Quality ETF (SPHQ) tracks S&P 500 Quality Index and the iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF (DGRO) tracks Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index. Invesco S&P 500 Quality ETF has $15.51 billion in assets, iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF has $36.6 billion. SPHQ has an expense ratio of 0.15% and DGRO changes 0.08%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - Large Cap Blend
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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Is Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index Fund ETF Shares (VIG) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Launched on 04/21/2006, the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index Fund ETF Shares (VIG - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment.
Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.
If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.
These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Vanguard, and has been able to amass over $98.02 billion, which makes it one of the largest ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. VIG, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the NASDAQ US Dividend Achievers Select Index.
The S&P U.S. Dividend Growers Index consists of common stocks of companies that have a record of increasing dividends over time.
Cost & Other Expenses
For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.04%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
VIG's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 1.67%.
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.
For VIG, it has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector --about 25.6% of the portfolio --while Financials and Healthcare round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Broadcom Inc (AVGO) accounts for about 6.24% of the fund's total assets, followed by Apple Inc (AAPL) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT).
Performance and Risk
The ETF has lost about -3.1% and is up about 11.32% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 03/23/2026), respectively. VIG has traded between $173.71 and $229.69 during this last 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 0.84 and standard deviation of 12.10% for the trailing three-year period, which makes VIG a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 342 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index Fund ETF Shares is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
Invesco S&P 500 Quality ETF (SPHQ) tracks S&P 500 Quality Index and the iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF (DGRO) tracks Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index. Invesco S&P 500 Quality ETF has $15.51 billion in assets, iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF has $36.6 billion. SPHQ has an expense ratio of 0.15% and DGRO changes 0.08%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - Large Cap Blend
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.