5 Best Vanguard ETFs For 2024

In this article, we discuss 5 best Vanguard ETFs. If you want to read our discussion on the ETF landscape, head directly to 11 Best Vanguard ETFs For 2024. 

5. Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares (NYSE:VTI)

5-year Share Price Performance as of March 11: 75.08%

Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares (NYSE:VTI) aims to replicate the performance of the CRSP US Total Market Index, investing in a diverse range of large, mid, and small-cap equities across growth and value styles. Utilizing a passively managed, index-sampling strategy, the fund remains fully invested. As of February 28, 2024, the ETF has an expense ratio of 0.03%. Its portfolio comprises 3747 stocks, and total net assets reaching $1.5 trillion as of January 31, 2024. Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares (NYSE:VTI) is one of the best Vanguard ETFs to buy. 

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is the largest holding of Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares (NYSE:VTI). On January 31, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) December-quarter results surpassed expectations, earning praise from Wall Street. Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives believes that the positive performance is indicative of the early stages of a significant monetization opportunity driven by artificial intelligence. Ives assigned an Outperform rating to Microsoft and a price target of $475, up from $450.

According to Insider Monkey’s fourth quarter database, 302 hedge funds were bullish on Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), compared to 306 funds in the prior quarter. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust is the largest stakeholder of the company, with 38.2 million shares worth $14.3 billion. 

Carillon Eagle Growth & Income Fund stated the following regarding Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:

“Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) performed well after reporting strong earnings supported by accelerated growth from Azure. The cloud business is seeing consistent trends from optimization while AI has contributed strongly to its growth.”

4. Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO)

5-year Share Price Performance as of March 11: 80.74%

Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO) invests in stocks from the S&P 500 Index, which consists of 500 of the largest US companies. Its objective is to closely mirror the index’s return, serving as a benchmark for overall US stock returns. As of February 28, 2024, Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO)’s expense ratio stands at 0.03% and its total net assets amount to $1.0 trillion as of January 31, 2024. Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO) is one of the best Vanguard ETFs to invest in. 

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is one of Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO)’s top holdings. On February 1, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) announced its fiscal 2024 first quarter ended December 30, 2023. The company reported a GAAP EPS of $2.18 and a revenue of $119.6 billion, outperforming Wall Street estimates by $0.07 and $1.34 billion, respectively. 

According to Insider Monkey’s fourth quarter database, 131 hedge funds were long Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), compared to 134 funds in the prior quarter. 

Horizon Kinetics stated the following regarding Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:

“The full point is that if BYD has turned its attention from its domestic market to direct global competition, then other Chinese companies can do the same. The next most visible example of Chinese commercially applied technological prowess relates to the 2nd highest-weight company in the S&P 500, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL).

In September 2023, Huawei Technologies introduced its Mate 60 Pro smartphone. It uses its own, internally developed 5G enabled chip that is apparently competitive with the Apple A17 chip. For practical purposes it has the functionality of the iPhone 15 Pro. This came as a great surprise – perhaps even shock – to the U.S. technology community, because four years ago the U.S. placed strict sanctions on China’s access to state-of-the-art semiconductor manufacturing technology…” (Click here to read the full text)

3. Vanguard ESG U.S. Stock ETF (CBOE:ESGV)

5-year Share Price Performance as of March 11: 86.05%

Vanguard ESG U.S. Stock ETF (CBOE:ESGV) aims to replicate the performance of the FTSE US All Cap Choice Index, a market-cap-weighted index that includes large, mid, and small-cap stocks. Vanguard ESG U.S. Stock ETF (CBOE:ESGV) screens for environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) criteria, excluding stocks related to industries such as adult entertainment, alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, and others. It also excludes companies that fail to meet labor, human rights, environmental, anti-corruption standards defined by the UN Global Compact Principles, as well as certain diversity criteria. The fund employs a passively managed, full-replication approach. As of December 22, 2023, Vanguard ESG U.S. Stock ETF (CBOE:ESGV)’s expense ratio stands at 0.09%. The fund’s portfolio consists of 1464 stocks and its net assets amount to $7.6 billion as of January 31, 2024. 

One of Vanguard ESG U.S. Stock ETF (CBOE:ESGV)’s top holdings is NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA). On February 21, NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) reported a Q4 non-GAAP EPS of $5.16 and a revenue of $22.1 billion, outperforming Wall Street estimates by $0.52 and $1.55 billion, respectively. 

According to Insider Monkey’s fourth quarter database, 173 hedge funds were long NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), compared to 180 funds in the last quarter. Rajiv Jain’s GQG Partners is a prominent stakeholder of the company, with 13.90 million shares worth $6.8 billion.  

SaltLight Capital stated the following regarding NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:

“We were fortunate to have some exposure to some of the ‘Magnificent Seven’ – Amazon, NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), Meta Platforms and Google (although in aggregate, we still hold a smaller weighting than the S&P 500).

While we are cautious in AI infrastructure, we do think there are mispriced opportunities in areas of application software where AI can be infused to make a step change improvement. Posted in our office is this chart that ASML provides at each of its investor days. This chart is a little outdated from 2021, but we think illustrates how value (in operating profit) was distributed across semiconductors, hardware, and then software & services. It’s very clear that most of the economic value in the past has accrued to the software services (in gray) built on the backs of highly technical companies run by extremely smart people.

Why is this? We think it is due to a combination of distribution and network effects. Our working hypothesis right now is that this will likely remain a similar outcome in the AI epoch. One outlier right now is Nvidia which is capturing 80% margins..” (Click here to read the full text)

2. Vanguard S&P 500 Growth Index Fund ETF Shares (NYSE:VOOG)

5-year Share Price Performance as of March 11: 93.60%

Vanguard S&P 500 Growth Index Fund ETF Shares (NYSE:VOOG) ranks 2nd on our list of the best Vanguard ETFs to buy. Vanguard S&P 500 Growth Index Fund ETF Shares (NYSE:VOOG) invests in stocks listed in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Growth Index, which includes growth-oriented companies within the S&P 500. The fund’s primary goal is to closely mirror the index’s return, serving as a benchmark for overall U.S. growth stock performance. As of December 22, 2023, Vanguard S&P 500 Growth Index Fund ETF Shares (NYSE:VOOG)’s expense ratio stands at 0.10%. Its portfolio consists of 226 stocks and the total net assets amount to $9.1 billion as of January 31, 2024. 

Vanguard S&P 500 Growth Index Fund ETF Shares (NYSE:VOOG)’s top holdings include Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN). On February 26, Citi expressed bullishness towards artificial intelligence as a critical thematic investing category. They highlighted specific stocks within the sector, with a particular focus on Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN). Citi emphasized their three-pronged approach, which includes seeking operating leverage, growth-at-a-reasonable-price, and confidence in top-line trajectories when evaluating investment opportunities in the AI sector.

According to Insider Monkey’s fourth quarter database, 293 hedge funds were long Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), compared to 286 funds in the prior quarter. Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management is the largest stakeholder of the company, with 41.78 million shares worth $6.3 billion. 

Polen Global Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:

“Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), which saw significant price appreciation throughout much of 2023, saw its share price increase materially in Q4 following the company’s Q3 2023 earnings report. We have yet to see the long-awaited re-acceleration in AWS (Amazon Web Services) revenue growth. However, in our estimation, the segment’s growth has likely bottomed, and we could see accelerating growth in 2024. Further, Amazon’s e-commerce business has gradually re-accelerated from 2022’s levels and, perhaps most importantly, the company’s margins and free cash flow have rebounded materially from last year. This rebound in margins and free cash flow at Amazon has been a key component of our long-term thesis for the business, and we expect the improvement in these metrics to continue into 2024 and beyond (though perhaps not linearly) as the company continues to optimize costs and capital expenditures. Our position in Amazon reflects our positive long-term expectations of the business, and it is currently our largest absolute weight in the Portfolio.”

1. Vanguard Information Technology Index Fund ETF Shares (NYSE:VGT)

5-year Share Price Performance as of March 11: 161.12%

Vanguard Information Technology Index Fund ETF Shares (NYSE:VGT) ranks 1st on our list of the best Vanguard ETFs. Vanguard Information Technology Index Fund ETF Shares (NYSE:VGT) aims to replicate the performance of a benchmark index measuring the investment return of tech stocks. It is passively managed, utilizing a full-replication strategy when feasible. Vanguard Information Technology Index Fund ETF Shares (NYSE:VGT)’s expense ratio stands at 0.10% as of December 22, 2023. Its portfolio consists of 312 stocks and the net assets amount to $71.9 billion as of January 31, 2024. 

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) is one of the top holdings of Vanguard Information Technology Index Fund ETF Shares (NYSE:VGT). On February 28, Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) declared a $0.40 per share quarterly dividend. The dividend is payable on April 11, to shareholders on record as of March 14. The company also raised its share repurchase authorization by $10 billion.

According to Insider Monkey’s fourth quarter database, 131 hedge funds were bullish on Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM), compared to 122 funds in the last quarter. Harris Associates is a prominent stakeholder of the company, with 3.9 million shares worth $1 billion. 

Polen Focus Growth Strategy stated the following regarding Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) in its fourth quarter 2023 investor letter:

“In the fourth quarter, the top relative and absolute contributors to the Portfolio’s performance were Netflix, ServiceNow, and Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM).

Salesforce has continued to grow its revenues at what we see as a healthy rate despite market concerns about the impact of the weaker macroeconomy on its business and penetration rates in its core CRM offering. Even its most mature and largest offerings, Sales Cloud and Service Cloud, are still growing revenue at double-digit rates. In addition, management realized that their cost structure, especially in salespeople, had gotten too bloated. Over the past year and a half, the company has run a much more streamlined expense structure that has led to strong operating margin expansion and earnings growth. Importantly, we do not feel Salesforce has cut into its innovation or sales muscle through these cost cuts but has eliminated unnecessary excess fat from the organization.”

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