Best ETFs
Schwab and Vanguard charge the same 0.03%. Their small-cap funds are 3.7 percentage points apart
Vanguard Morningstar Small-Cap ETF
$288.160.00 (0.00%)
- 0.03%
- $185.3B
- +17.7%
- 1.27%
- 0.5M sh
- $288.18
- low $241.17high $309.51
The ETF.net VB Grade
A
Score 77 out of 100
- 2 of 17
Score 77 of 100 falls in the A band. A is 70 or higher, B 55 to under 70, C 40 to under 55, D 25 to under 40, F under 25.
Cost
The fund’s net expense ratio, ranked against its category.A91 out of 100Rank 1 of 17Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.A85 out of 100Rank 13 of 16Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.B65 out of 100Rank 3 of 17Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.B58 out of 100Rank 5 of 17Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.B62 out of 100Rank 9 of 17Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.A91 out of 100Rank 1 of 17
Our read on VB
AVanguard's small-cap workhorse: roughly 1,400 smaller US companies for three basis points. The CRSP index behind it shifts stocks between size bands in two half steps instead of one jump, which holds turnover down. Trading since 2004.
The fund seeks to track the CRSP US Small Cap Index, which measures the investment performance of small U.S. companies. It uses an indexing approach and generally replicates the index by holding its securities in approximately their index weights.
Why people hold it
- Three basis points a year, against a small-cap category median near 0.25%. Cost is the one edge in indexing you actually keep.
- About 1,400 stocks held at roughly their index weights, so no single small-cap story carries the fund.personal1.vanguard.com
- Its CRSP benchmark migrates a stock between size segments in two 50% packets instead of one move, a design built to cut turnover.crsp.com
- Running since 2004, actively traded, and one of the strongest implementations in its 20-fund small-cap peer group.
Worth knowing
- Small companies move harder in both directions than large-cap benchmarks, and this is full, unhedged exposure to that.
- Benchmarks disagree on where small cap starts. VB follows CRSP, while IWM and VTWO track the Russell 2000, so holdings and results can drift apart.
- US companies only, and distributions land quarterly rather than monthly.
VB Holdings
- Stocks
- 1,308
- 5%
- SLCMT1142
Sectors
- Technology17.8%
- Industrials17.7%
- Health Care13.8%
- Financials12.8%
- Consumer Discretionary11.3%
- Real Estate7.8%
- Materials4.6%
- Energy4.6%
- Consumer Staples3.5%
- Communication3.1%
- Utilities3.0%
Geography
- United States100.00%
VB Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
VB$11,770
Returns run to the Oct 12, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
| Period | VB |
|---|---|
| Year to date | +12.8% |
| 1 month | −1.5% |
| 3 months | −3.1% |
| 1 year | +17.7% |
| 3 years | +17.4% |
| 5 years | +6.9% |
| 10 years | +10.8% |
Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.
| Year | Return bar | VB |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | +12.8% | |
| 2025 | +8.9% | |
| 2024 | +14.2% | |
| 2023 | +18.2% | |
| 2022 | −17.5% | |
| 2021 | +17.6% | |
| 2020 | +19.2% |
VB in the news
VB Dividends
- 1.27%
- $3.65
- $0.85 per share
- Quarterly
Distribution history
VB Risk
- 17.0%
How it’s calculated: standard deviation
The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.
- 0.71
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio
Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.
Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.
- −28.2%
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown
The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.
Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.
- 1.07
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
VB Cost
0.03%
VB0.03%
- The middle half of US Small-Cap funds
- Median 0.22%
No US Small-Cap fund charges less.
Other funds in US Small-Cap
- ASCHASchwab U.S. Small-Cap ETFExpense ratio 0.03%1 year return +21.6%
- AVTWOVanguard Russell 2000 ETFExpense ratio 0.06%1 year return +18.3%
- ABKSEBNY Mellon US Small Cap Core Equity ETFExpense ratio 0.04%1 year return +18.8%
- AIWMiShares Russell 2000 ETFExpense ratio 0.19%1 year return +18.1%
- BRSSLGlobal X - Russell 2000 ETFExpense ratio 0.08%1 year return +18.1%