If you're interested in broad exposure to the Industrials - Broad segment of the equity market, look no further than the Vanguard Industrials ETF (VIS), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 09/23/2004.

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.

Sector ETFs are also funds of convenience, offering many 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 13, placing it in bottom 19%.

Index Details

The fund is sponsored by Vanguard. It has amassed assets over $5.54 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 Index (IMI)/Industrials 25/50 is made up of stocks of large, mid-size, and small U.S. companies within the industrials sector.

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 1.20%.

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 in the Industrials sector--about 99.90% of the portfolio.

Looking at individual holdings, General Electric Co (GE) accounts for about 3.57% of total assets, followed by Caterpillar Inc (CAT) and Rtx Corp (RTX).

Performance and Risk

So far this year, VIS has gained about 17.63%, and it's up approximately 32.70% in the last one year (as of 09/26/2024). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $183.76 and $259.26.

The ETF has a beta of 1.10 and standard deviation of 18.14% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 387 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Vanguard Industrials 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, VIS is a reasonable option for those seeking exposure to the Industrials ETFs area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

First Trust Industrials/Producer Durables AlphaDEX ETF (FXR) tracks StrataQuant Industrials Index and the Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI) tracks Industrial Select Sector Index. First Trust Industrials/Producer Durables AlphaDEX ETF has $1.97 billion in assets, Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF has $20.06 billion. FXR has an expense ratio of 0.61% and XLI charges 0.09%.

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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Vanguard Industrials ETF (VIS): ETF Research Reports

GE Aerospace (GE) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI): ETF Research Reports

First Trust Industrials/Producer Durables AlphaDEX ETF (FXR): ETF Research Reports

RTX Corporation (RTX) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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