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 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 also provide investors access to a broad group of companies in particular sectors that offer low risk and diversified exposure. Industrials - Broad is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 4, placing it in top 25%.
Index Details
The fund is sponsored by Vanguard. It has amassed assets over $6.01 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
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 0.09%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.11%.
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.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Industrials sector -- about 99.9% of the portfolio.
Looking at individual holdings, General Electric Co (GE) accounts for about 4.69% of total assets, followed by Rtx Corp (RTX) and Caterpillar Inc (CAT).
Performance and Risk
So far this year, VIS has added roughly 13.93%, and is up roughly 25.49% in the last one year (as of 08/06/2025). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $220.04 and $295.5.
The ETF has a beta of 1.11 and standard deviation of 18.05% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 393 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
Vanguard Industrials 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, VIS is an excellent 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 Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI) tracks Industrial Select Sector Index. First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ETF has $4.59 billion in assets, Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF has $23.09 billion. AIRR has an expense ratio of 0.7%, 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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Vanguard Industrials ETF (VIS): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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