Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US Small-Cap ETF
$154.25+0.11 (+0.07%)
- 0.06%
- $14.5B
- +13.8%
- 2.92%
- 0.2M sh
- $154.21
- low $136.63high $162.91
The ETF.net VSS Grade
A
Score 80 out of 100
- 2 of 16
Score 80 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.A97 out of 100Rank 1 of 16Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.A100 out of 100Rank 1 of 11Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.D37 out of 100Rank 13 of 16Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.B61 out of 100Rank 5 of 16Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.A71 out of 100Rank 7 of 16Durability
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 16
Our read on VSS
AOne ticker for the small companies the rest of the world runs on: roughly 4,800 stocks across developed and emerging markets outside the US, at 0.06% a year. Vanguard has run it since 2009.
Seeks to track the FTSE Global Small Cap ex US Index, providing broad exposure to developed and emerging non-U.S. small-cap equity markets worldwide through passive index sampling.
Why people hold it
- 0.06% a year, against a roughly 0.40% median for international small-cap funds. Only Schwab's SCHC matches the price.
- Developed and emerging markets in the same basket, roughly 4,800 names deep, so no single country or company carries much of the load.
- Tracks its FTSE Global Small Cap ex US benchmark closely and trades tightly for a fund built on thousands of overseas small caps.
- Running since 2009, now a multi-billion-dollar fund that pays out quarterly. Long track record, deep plumbing.advisors.vanguard.com
Worth knowing
- Small caps abroad move harder than blue chips, and everything is priced back into dollars, so currency swings ride along.investor.vanguard.com
- Vanguard samples the index rather than buying every line item, so the portfolio approximates the benchmark instead of replicating it.investor.vanguard.com
- Coverage stops at the US border by design. American small caps sit entirely outside the mandate.
VSS Holdings
- Stocks
- 4,896
- 10%
- SLBBH1142
Sectors
- Industrials20.8%
- Technology14.8%
- Materials13.4%
- Financials11.9%
- Consumer Discretionary10.2%
- Real Estate7.8%
- Health Care6.7%
- Energy4.8%
- Consumer Staples4.3%
- Communication2.9%
- Utilities2.4%
Geography
- Japan14.84%
- Canada10.62%
- Taiwan8.93%
- United Kingdom7.84%
- India6.82%
- China6.34%
- Australia4.85%
- Korea4.76%
- 35.00%
Developed 64% · Emerging 36%
VSS Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
VSS$11,381
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 | VSS |
|---|---|
| Year to date | +8.3% |
| 1 month | −2.6% |
| 3 months | −0.1% |
| 1 year | +13.8% |
| 3 years | +17.4% |
| 5 years | +6.1% |
| 10 years | +7.7% |
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 | VSS |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | +8.3% | |
| 2025 | +29.6% | |
| 2024 | +2.9% | |
| 2023 | +15.6% | |
| 2022 | −21.5% | |
| 2021 | +13.1% | |
| 2020 | +11.8% |
VSS in the news
VSS Dividends
- 2.92%
- $4.51
- $0.30 per share
- Quarterly
Distribution history
VSS Risk
- 14.2%
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.
- 0.87
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.
- −33.3%
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.
- 0.98
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
VSS Cost
0.06%
VSS0.06%
- The middle half of International Small-Cap funds
- Median 0.44%
No International Small-Cap fund charges less.
Other funds in International Small-Cap
- ASCHCSchwab International Small-Cap Equity ETFExpense ratio 0.06%1 year return +14.2%
- ASCZiShares MSCI EAFE Small-Cap ETFExpense ratio 0.40%1 year return +15.0%
- AFNDCSchwab Fundamental International Small Company Index ETFExpense ratio 0.39%1 year return +18.6%
- AWSMLiShares MSCI World Small-Cap ETFExpense ratio 0.30%1 year return +18.5%
- ADFISDimensional - International Small Cap ETFExpense ratio 0.39%1 year return +18.1%