Zachary Evens: Few Vanguard ETFs fly under the radar these days. With over $3 trillion in assets across more than 90 US-domiciled ETFs, not a lot slips through the cracks. Almost 80% of their ETFs claim more than $1 billion in assets, and many of the firm’s smallest ETFs are recent launches. Among those, a few ETFs stand out.
Vanguard recently launched several actively managed stock and bond ETFs. The launches represent a departure from the norm for Vanguard, who is known for very low-cost broad market index funds. These active ETFs are still well diversified and cheap, but they lean on the firm’s expertise to tilt the portfolio toward stocks and bonds with the highest expected returns.
Here are three Vanguard ETFs that stand out from the crowd.
3 Great New Vanguard ETFs
First up is Vanguard Core Bond ETF, which trades under the ticker VCRB. It launched in late 2023, and our team recently assigned it a Morningstar Medalist Rating of Bronze. It charges just 10 basis points annually, making it one of the cheapest active bond ETFs available. The ETF is managed by a team of three with ample industry experience, but the ETF’s special sauce is not in its management team.
Instead, its simple and repeatable process set it apart. It’s often said that active management makes the most sense in bonds, and Vanguard takes a deliberate approach here to generate benchmark-beating returns while also controlling risk.
It sits in the intermediate core bond category but can reach beyond the bounds of its Bloomberg US aggregate bond benchmark, grabbing select helpings of international debt and tweaking sector bets to boost returns. To keep risk in check, duration should never stray more than six months from the benchmark and it largely excludes non-investment-grade bonds.
The next ETF looks a lot like the first. Vanguard Core Plus Bond ETF, ticker VPLS, is managed by a similar team and follows the same approach, but it captures a wider swath of the total bond market, including some high-yield debt. Investors pay extra for this extra exposure, but its 20 basis point price tag still ranks well among the cheapest active bond ETFs.
By following the same discipline process as a core bond ETF, this core-plus bond ETF gets the same Morningstar Medalist Rating of Bronze.
The ETF includes some high-yield debt and thereby holds generally lower-quality securities than its core bond sibling, bringing it into the intermediate core-plus bond category. But with greater risk comes greater return, and this ETF should benefit when credit risk is rewarded.
The last ETF I’ll mention is not technically that new, having launched in 2018, but it underwent changes in 2023 that make it eligible for this list. Vanguard US Quality Factor ETF ticker VFQY, launched seven years ago but modified its approach in 2023 to deliver more-consistent quality exposure. These tweaks and low price tag should reward long-term investors, earning it a Morningstar Medalist Rating of Silver.
High-quality stocks, those with strong profitability, healthy balance sheets, and durable competitive advantages, have a track record of market-beating performance. This rules-based active ETF looks at these factors when building its portfolio and gives the most weight to the highest-quality stocks. This ensures that the ETF should maintain its high-quality tack, but it still invests across more than 400 stocks, not overexposing it to any one stock or sector.
Vanguard is slowly expanding its product lineup, and each of these ETFs give investors something new while offering the diversification and low price that Vanguard investors have come to love.
Watch 3 Top International ETFs for 2025 and Beyond for more from Zachary Evens.