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

Designed to provide broad exposure to the Industrials - Broad segment of the equity market, the Vanguard Industrials Index Fund ETF Shares (VIS) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on September 23, 2004.

Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are 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. Industrials - Broad is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 5, placing it in top 31%.

Index Details

The fund is sponsored by Vanguard. It has amassed assets over $8.54 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 Industrials 25/50 Index measures the investment return of industrial stocks.

Costs

Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts, other things remaining the same.

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 0.86%.

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 Industrials sector -- about 99.9% of the portfolio.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has gained about 20.83% and is up about 25.04% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 08/17/2026), respectively. VIS has traded between $283.32 and $360.38 during this last 52-week period.

The ETF has a beta of 1.04 and standard deviation of 17.36% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 399 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Vanguard Industrials Index Fund ETF Shares 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, 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 State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI) tracks Industrial Select Sector Index. First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ETF has $10.90 billion in assets, State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF has $35.11 billion. AIRR has an expense ratio of 0.69%, 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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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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