Jun 25th, 2009
What’s in My Portfolio: Vanguard Index Funds Small Cap Value Exchange Traded Fund
Here’s another ETF in my portfolio, this one kept in my Roth IRA–the Vanguard Index Funds Small Cap Value Exchange Traded Fund (VBR). This fund is the ETF is the equivalent of the Vanguard Small Cap Value Index Fund (VISVX).
This ETF tracks the index of small cap value stocks (stocks that are felt to be undervalued when bought). Unfortunately, it has not performed all that well this year–down 18.02% year to date versus the virtually breakeven performance of the S&P 500. It does pay a nice 3.01% yield.
This ETF makes up a miniscule amount of my portfolio–about a fifth of a percent–so I am in no danger of being overly exposed. Since it’s Vanguard, costs are minimal (an expense ratio of 0.11%). And since it’s in a tax advantaged account, I don’t have to worry about taxes.
If you are interested in following the small cap value index, this would be the ETF for you–like many ETFs it has the advantage of needing a smaller amount of money to get started than the equivalent mutual fund. I’m likely to hold this one for quite some time.
