Launched on 01/26/2004, the Vanguard Financials ETF (VFH) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Financials - Broad segment of the equity market.

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.

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. Financials - Broad is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 1, placing it in top 6%.

Index Details

The fund is sponsored by Vanguard. It has amassed assets over $11.85 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Financials - Broad segment of the equity market. VFH seeks to match the performance of the MSCI US Investable Market Financials 25/50 Index before fees and expenses.

The MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Financials 25/50 measures the investment return of stocks in the financial sector.

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 0.10%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.57%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Financials sector--about 100% of the portfolio.

Looking at individual holdings, Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRK/B) accounts for about 8.29% of total assets, followed by Jpmorgan Chase & Co (JPM) and Mastercard Inc (MA).

Performance and Risk

The ETF has added roughly 36.23% so far this year and was up about 44.73% in the last one year (as of 12/09/2024). In that past 52-week period, it has traded between $88.71 and $126.20.

The ETF has a beta of 1.09 and standard deviation of 19.48% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 406 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Vanguard Financials ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, VFH is a great option for investors seeking exposure to the Financials ETFs segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.