Should You Invest in the Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT)?

The Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT) was launched on 01/26/2004, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Technology - Broad segment of the equity market.

While an excellent vehicle for long term investors, passively managed ETFs are a popular choice among institutional and retail investors due to their low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency.

Sector ETFs are also funds of convenience, offering many ways to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Technology - Broad is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 5, placing it in top 31%.

Index Details

The fund is sponsored by Vanguard. It has amassed assets over $38.22 billion, making it the largest ETF attempting to match the performance of the Technology - Broad segment of the equity market. VGT seeks to match the performance of the MSCI US Investable Market Information Technology 25/50 Index before fees and expenses.

The MSCI US Investable Market Information Technology 25/50 Index is designed to transition in and out of securities affected by pending updates to the information technology sector.

Costs

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts if all other fundamentals are the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.10%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.91%.

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 Information Technology sector--about 99.70% of the portfolio.

Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc. (AAPL) accounts for about 24.10% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and Nvidia Corp. (NVDA).

The top 10 holdings account for about 61.07% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, VGT has lost about -31.35%, and is down about -29.03% in the last one year (as of 11/08/2022). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $300.84 and $466.10.

The ETF has a beta of 1.14 and standard deviation of 31.27% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 377 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Vanguard Information Technology ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, VGT is an excellent option for investors seeking exposure to the Technology ETFs segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

IShares U.S. Technology ETF (IYW) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Technology Index and the Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) tracks Technology Select Sector Index. IShares U.S. Technology ETF has $7.67 billion in assets, Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF has $37.15 billion. IYW has an expense ratio of 0.39% and XLK charges 0.10%.

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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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.