Short interest for Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF gives investors a sense of the degree to which investors are betting on the decline of Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF's stock. Short interest data is updated every two weeks.

Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF (NASDAQ:VCIT), Short Interest Report

Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF

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BlackRock Inc sees rate cuts in second half of 2024. Shape of the yield curve to be key drivers of returns. ETFs could be good investment vehicles.

Traders May Need Frequent Portfolio Adjustments In 2024: BlackRock

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Get In The Middle With This Corporate Bond ETF

Get In The Middle With Corporate Bonds

BlackRock Inc (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/BLK#NYSE">BLK</a>) doesn&#8217;t anticipate rate cuts until the second half of 2024. The shape of the yield curve and the trajectory of growth will be key drivers of returns.
Gargi Pal Chaudhuri, head of iShares Investment Strategy Americas at BlackRock, <a href="https://www.ishares.com/us/insights/year-ahead-outlook-2024#macro">shared</a> her view on the outlook. 
&#8220;The shape of the yield curve is now signaling that it's time to consider allocating out of cash,&#8221; noted Chaudhuri. She believed that sitting in cash in 2024 would mean missing out on bond and equity market returns.
Chaudhuri identified opportunities to deploy cash selectively across asset classes:
<ul>
<li>Fixed income: pairing intermediate duration core holdings with differentiated income-seeking exposures.</li>
<li>Equities: adding downside protection in core exposures while taking targeted risk in loveable laggards.</li>
</ul>
An interesting fact that came to light from the report was that in the previous five hiking cycles since 1990, the Fed paused an average of 10 months between its last hike and its first cut.&nbsp;On average, stock and bond returns have been higher during the pause period than in easing periods immediately following the first cut.
Frequent portfolio adjustments may be needed in 2024, owing to:
<ul>
<li>Geopolitical risks</li>
<li>Election cycles</li>
<li>Worsening U.S. fiscal backdrop, and</li>
<li>Shifting central bank narratives</li>
</ul>
For equity allocations, managing macro risks in a slowing growth backdrop will be key.&nbsp;
&#8220;In a shifting macro environment, remaining invested can be paramount, but adding downside resiliency to core equity holdings could make sense for many investors,&#8221; said Chaudhuri. 
Using ETFs as investment vehicles could be a good strategy in such a macro-environment, per BlackRock, as these efficiently adjust to rapidly changing realities.
For reference, SPDR S&amp;P 500 ETF (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/SPY#NYSE">SPY</a>), iShares Core S&amp;P 500 ETF (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/IVV#NYSE">IVV</a>), Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/VTI#NYSE">VTI</a>) and Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 (NASDAQ:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/QQQ#NASDAQ">QQQ</a>) are the most popular and biggest U.S. equity tracking ETFs in the U.S.
The most popular intermediate-term bond ETFs are Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/VCIT#NYSE">VCIT</a>), iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/IEF#NYSE">IEF</a>) and Vanguard Intermediate-Term Treasury ETF (NYSE:<a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/VGIT#NYSE">VGIT</a>).
Photo: Shutterstock

With U.S. interest rates low and poised to move even lower, income investors are scrambling for yield. Fortunately, the Federal Reserve is obliging, meaning investors can take some added interest rate risk.
<h3>What Happened</h3>
As the Fed raised rates four times last year, short duration bond funds, including those in the corporate bond space, were popular with income investors. Now, with the Fed easing, investors can consider more duration while accessing added yield with the likes of the Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/vcit#NASDAQ">VCIT</a>).
Home to $25 billion in assets under management and an <a href="https://investor.vanguard.com/etf/profile/VCIT">expense ratio of 0.07%</a>, the Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF is one of the largest and cheapest corporate bond ETFs on the market regardless of duration profile.
The average duration of VCIT&#39;s just over 1,800 holdings is 6.2 years, putting the Vanguard ETF firmly in intermediate-term territory.
<h3>Why It&#39;s Important </h3>
VCIT features a heavy dose (36.1%) of debt issued by financial services firms, a relic of the financial crisis when many banks sold debt to stay afloat and deal with bad loans. A near-term issue to consider with VCIT is how the market will treat BBB-rated bonds, those issues residing one to three notches above junk status.
&ldquo;When credit spreads widen and the market requires greater compensation for bearing credit risk, which often happens in weakening business environments, lower-quality investment-grade corporate bonds tend to underperform safer Treasuries,&rdquo; <a href="https://www.morningstar.com/etfs/xnas/vcit/quote">according to Morningstar</a>. &ldquo;Conversely, narrowing credit spreads give lower-quality bonds a boost. The lower the bond&#39;s credit quality, the more sensitive it is to changes in the credit spread.&rdquo;
VCIT allocates almost 57% of its weight to BBB-rated bonds.
<h3>What&#39;s Next</h3>
There is compensation for the added risk associated with corporate bonds relative to Treasuries. For example, VCIT has a 30-day SEC yield of 3.42% compared to 2.21% on the iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/ief#NASDAQ">IEF</a>).
&ldquo;The fund&#39;s cost advantage is its greatest appeal. It builds on its expense ratio advantage by mitigating transaction costs through its weighting approach, which favors the most-liquid bonds in the market that tend to be the cheapest to trade,&rdquo; said Morningstar. &ldquo;The fund also applies minimum liquidity requirements, which further reduces transaction costs and makes the index easier to track.&rdquo;
The research firm has a Silver rating on VCIT.
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1. Pinduoduo Inc (PDD) 
2. Speedway Motorsports, Inc (TRK) 
3. iShares Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF (IGIB) 
4. Fuwei Films (Holdings) Co., Ltd (FFHL) 
5. iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond (LQD) 
6. Carbon Black, Inc (CBLK) 
7. Monotype Imaging Holdings Inc (TYPE) 
8. Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF (VCIT) 
9. SPDR Portfolio Long Term Treasury ETF (SPTL) 
10. Vanguard Long-Treasury ETF (VGLT)
This list is compiled from an analysis of the Relative Strength Index (RSI) shown on Benzinga Pro&#39;s Screener tool.
&nbsp;

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FFHL

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Citigourp Global Markets 2% Protected Notes Linked To The Djia

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Yes, 2019 is still in its early stages, but for all the concerns about the state of the U.S. investment-grade corporate bond market heading into this year, that universe is off to a solid start.
The Markit iBoxx USD Liquid Investment Grade Index, one of the most widely followed gauges of domestic investment-grade corporate debt, is higher by nearly 3 percent.
<h3>What Happened</h3>
With expectations in place that the Federal Reserve will slow its pace of interest rate hikes or not boost borrowing costs at all this year, some fixed income investors may revisit longer-dated bonds. For those looking to increase duration exposure without going all the way to long-term bonds and the related exchange traded funds, intermediate-term bond funds are adequate substitutes.
In the investment-grade corporate bond universe, that includes the Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/vcit#NASDAQ">VCIT</a>). VCIT is CFRA Research&#39;s focus ETF for the month of February.
<h3>Why It&#39;s Important</h3>
Last month fixed income investors &ldquo;gravitated toward intermediate-term bond strategies -- those investing in bonds with maturities between three and ten years &ndash; in contrast to short (1-3 years) and ultra-short (less than 1 year) term products that were more popular in 2018 as the Federal Reserve hiked rates multiple time,&rdquo; said CFRA&#39;s Director of ETF &amp; Mutual Fund Research Todd Rosenbluth in <a href="https://newpublic.cfraresearch.com/">a note released Monday.</a>
Home to $18.2 billion in assets under management at the end of last year, VCIT is one of the largest corporate bond ETFs of any maturity range. The fund holds over 1,700 bonds with an average duration of 6.1 years. The average effective maturity on VCIT&#39;s holdings is 7.3 years.
&ldquo;As CFRA&rsquo;s Investment Policy Committee noted on January 9, the news out of the December 20 policy statement was the shift in language and reflected the more dovish tone coming out of the Fed, underscoring a new patient stance,&rdquo; said Rosenbluth. &ldquo;Given the macroeconomic environment, investors were willing to incur additional interest rate sensitivity in exchange for healthier yields.&rdquo;
VCIT yields 3.6&nbsp;percent, just below the yield on the Markit iBoxx USD Liquid Investment Grade Index.
<h3>What&#39;s Next</h3>
&ldquo;As of January 29, VCIT was the second most popular bond ETF, pulling in $2.5 billion and increasing its asset base to $21 billion; bond ETFs collectively added $13 billion to start 2019,&rdquo; said Rosenbluth. &ldquo;This ETF seeks to track the Bloomberg Barclays US 5-10 Year Corporate Bond Index and the fund is highly diversified with more than 1,700 holdings.&rdquo;
CFRA has an Overweight rating on VCIT. The fund charges just 0.07 percent per year, making it <a href="https://investor.vanguard.com/etf/profile/portfolio/vcit">cheaper than 91 percent </a>of competing strategies.
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Analyst Ratings

Investment-grade corporate bonds and related exchange traded funds are options to consider for fixed income investors looking for higher yields and potentially better total returns than what&#39;s offered by Treasuries and traditional diversified bond funds.
The Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/vcit#NASDAQ">VCIT</a>) is a cost-effective avenue for accessing investment-grade corporate debt. VCIT&#39;s annual expense ratio is just 0.07 percent, or $7 on a $10,000 position, making it cheaper than 91 percent of rival funds, <a href="https://personal.vanguard.com/us/funds/snapshot?FundId=3146&amp;FundIntExt=INT&amp;funds_disable_redirect=true">according to Vanguard data</a>.
&ldquo;This exchange-traded fund provides market-cap-weighted exposure to investment-grade U.S. corporate bonds with between five and 10 years until maturity,&rdquo; said Morningstar <a href="http://www.morningstar.com/articles/860884/cheap-exposure-to-investmentgrade-corporate-bonds.html">in a Wednesday note</a>.
&ldquo;It is one of the lowest-cost options in the corporate-bond Morningstar Category and has tightly tracked the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. 5-10 Year Corporate Bond Index. While there&#39;s plenty to like here, it&#39;s important to note that this fund has heavy exposure to the financial services sector, which could be a source of risk. It earns a Morningstar analyst rating of Silver.&rdquo;
<h3>
	What Happened</h3>
Last year, investors added $8.06 billion to VCIT, good for one of the best asset-gathering tallies among all fixed-income ETFs. The inflow came even as the Federal Reserve boosted interest rates three times. The Fed raised interest rates in March, but VCIT has seen nearly $410 million in year-to-date inflows.
VCIT is down more than 4 percent year-to-date, pushing its yield to 3.34 percent &mdash; a healthy margin above 10-year Treasuries.
<h3>
	Why It&#39;s Important </h3>
VCIT has an average duration of 6.4 years and an average effective maturity of 7.5 years. Over 92 percent of the fund&#39;s nearly 1,750 holdings are rated A or Baa. Additionally, the ETF&#39;s exposure to bonds issued by financial services companies is rising.
&ldquo;Roughly one-third of the portfolio is invested in the financials sector. Its average sector exposure was less than one-fourth of the portfolio from 2010 to 2016, according to Morningstar data. Any negative developments in this sector could hurt the fund&#39;s performance,&rdquo; the research firm said.
&ldquo;This concentration is mostly driven by large U.S. banks, which have issued a record amount of debt since 2010 to take advantage of low rates and meet the strict post-crisis capital requirements.&rdquo;
<h3>
	What&#39;s Next</h3>
Further interest rate hikes, which are expected, could prompt bond investors to depart high-yield corporate debt. Some of those investors could transition to investment-grade fare such as VCIT. The key is VCIT&#39;s ability to endure rate hikes &mdash; and how high Treasury yields move.
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A Corporate Bond ETF For Conservative ETFs

Vanguard is the second-largest U.S. issuer of exchange traded funds by assets, but its stable of ETFs is small compared to issuers of a similar size. While many large ETF issuers launch several new products per year or have launches numbering in the double digits, Vanguard eschews that strategy.
When Vanguard launches new ETFs, they are usually successful and often attain that success in short order. Time will tell if that&#39;s the case for the Vanguard Total Corporate Bond ETF (NASDAQ: VTC), which debuted Thursday as Vanguard&#39;s first ETF of 2017.
The Vanguard Total Corporate Bond ETF is the first new ETF introduced by Pennsylvania-based Vanguard since the firm launched the Vanguard International Dividend Appreciation ETF (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/vigi#NASDAQ">VIGI</a>) and the Vanguard International High Dividend Yield ETF (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/vymi#NASDAQ">VYMI</a>) a year-and-a-half ago.
<h3>
	Good Timing</h3>
Some new ETFs benefit from good timing, and that could be the case with the Vanguard Total Corporate Bond ETF. Investors are flocking to investment-grade corporate bond ETFs this year, with two such funds being among this year&#39;s top 10 asset-gathering ETFs. That duo includes the Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/vcit#NASDAQ">VCIT</a>).
VTC, the new Vanguard ETF, tracks the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Corporate Bond Index. The new ETF charges 0.07 percent per year, or $7 on a $10,000 investment, making it less expensive than 91 percent of rival funds, <a href="https://personal.vanguard.com/us/funds/snapshot?FundId=0985&amp;FundIntExt=INT#tab=0">according to issuer data</a>.&nbsp;
VCT is the 17th fixed income ETF in Vanguard&#39;s lineup. In addition to the new ETF and the aforementioned VCIT, Vanguard&#39;s corporate bond ETFs include the Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond ETF (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/vcsh#NASDAQ">VCSH</a>) and the Vanguard Long-Term Corporate Bond ETF (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/vclt#NASDAQ">VCLT</a>).
<h3>
	Broad Exposure</h3>
As is usually the case with Vanguard ETFs, VCT features a massive roster. By using an ETF-of-ETFs structure that equates to VCT holding the other Vanguard corporate bond ETFs mentioned here, the new fund has one of the largest number of components among any corporate bond fund.
&ldquo; The ETF-of-ETFs structure enables the fund to immediately access more than 5,500 U.S. corporate bonds by taking advantage of the existing exposure and scale offered by the underlying ETFs,&rdquo; <a href="https://pressroom.vanguard.com/news/Press-Release-Vanguard-Launches-Total-Corporate-Bond-Fund-110917.html">according to a statement</a> issued by Vanguard. &ldquo;This approach achieves near complete replication of the benchmark at the fund&rsquo;s inception as well as tighter bid/ask spreads and lower operating expenses than investing directly in the benchmark&rsquo;s constituents.&rdquo;&nbsp;
With over 5,500 holdings, VCT&#39;s roster is roughly triple the size of the largest investment-grade corporate bond ETF.
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New ETFs

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Vanguard's First New ETF Of 2017 Is A Corporate Bond Fund

Many investment pros swear by the concept of diversifying their investments, not only across various sectors but asset classes &mdash; especially corporate bonds.
Here is how investors can invest directly in corporate bonds.
As a reminder, a corporate bond is as its name implies: a bond issued by a corporation. In essence, the corporation borrows money from the investor to fund part of its operation or enter a new market in exchange for repayment of the principle (also known as the face value) plus a certain amount of interest, which varies from company to company and is typically paid to the investor every six months.
Other types of bonds available for investors are issued by government entities ranging from the federal to municipal lender.
Investors who want to purchase corporate bonds can do so quite easily if the bond trades on the over-the-counter (OTC) market. This can be done through a standard brokerage account, which many investors already use for their investments in stocks.
<bzrelatedlink>Related Link: <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/trading-ideas/long-ideas/16/08/8371533/shorts-are-running-to-cover-some-of-this-etfs-holdings">Shorts Are Running To Cover Some Of This ETF's Holdings</a></bzrelatedlink>
Bond prices are quoted as percentage of its face value with $100 being the benchmark. For example, a bond trading at 90 implies it could be purchased for 90 percent of its face value &mdash; a $10,000 bond could be bought by an investor for $9,000.
Regardless of the trading price of the bond, the interest payment stays the same.
Bottom line, corporate bonds offer an attractive alternative to investing in stocks given the consistent interest payments. However, there are many stocks that offer investors a similar percentage payout through the form of dividends. As is always the case, novice investors should seek out the expertise of a trusted financial adviser before making any commitments.
<h3>A Few ETFs In The Space</h3>
<ul>
<li>iShares Barclays 1-3 Year Credit Bond Fd (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/csj#NYSE">CSJ</a>).</li>
<li>iShares IBoxx $ Invest Grade Corp Bd Fd (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/lqd#NYSE">LQD</a>).</li>
<li>Vanguard Short Term Corporate Bond ETF (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/vcsh#NASDAQ">VCSH</a>).</li>
<li>Vanguard Intermediate Tm Cpte Bd ETF(NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/vcit#NASDAQ">VCIT</a>).</li>
</ul>
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Education

General

Can Individual Investors Buy Corporate Bonds?

Past performance is never a guarantee of future returns, but some of the exchange-traded funds that delivered for investors in the first half of the year could continue doing so in the second half.
What worked for investors in the first half of 2016 includes, most notably, fixed income and gold ETFs. That much is confirmed by this year&#39;s top 10 asset-gathering ETFs, which is led by the SPDR Gold Trust (ETF) (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/gld#NYSE">GLD</a>) and four bond funds.
Earlier this week, iShares, the world&#39;s largest ETF issuer,<a href="http://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/16/07/8206269/another-milestone-for-bond-etfs"> said bond ETFs</a> around the world now have $600 billion in assets under management. Of the nearly $23 billion added to global bond ETFs during the second quarter, iShares captured $11.9 billion of that total, including $4.7 billion in the United States. Year-to-date, bond ETFs around the world have added $66.7 billion in new assets with $39.3 billion allocated to iShares funds, including $24.3 billion to the issuer&#39;s U.S.-listed bond ETFs.
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<h3>The Role Volatility Plays In Investor Sentiment</h3>
Volatility has prompted investors to act defensively, providing boosts to safe-havens such as gold and U.S. Treasury ETFs.
&ldquo;In late June, the S&amp;P Global Market Intelligence&#39;s Investment Policy Committee (IPC) raised its 12-month price target for the S&amp;P 500 to 2250 from 2175; the S&amp;P 500 was recently at 2,152. At the time Sam Stovall, US equity strategist and chairman of the IPC, cited the Capital IQ consensus forecast of 12-month EPS growth for the S&amp;P 500 to $125.84, and S&amp;P Global Economics&#39; projection of an average 2.4 percent growth in real GDP over the coming four quarters. Stovall also thinks that volatility should rise in the coming year as the number of days in which the S&amp;P 500 rose or fell by 1 percent or more averaged 85 in year eight of bull markets since World War II versus 65 in year seven,&rdquo; said <a href="http://trymsatoday.com/">S&amp;P Capital IQ</a> in a note out Wednesday.
With the Federal Reserve refusing to raise interest rates and investors still hunting for yield, corporate bond ETFs have also <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/trading-ideas/long-ideas/16/07/8192177/robust-liquidity-for-this-high-yield-bond-etf">been embraced</a> by investors this year.
The Vanguard Intermediate Tm Cpte Bd ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/vcit#NYSE">VCIT</a>) is another idea for the second half for investors looking for some income with a middle duration. VCIT, which holds 1,755 bonds with an average duration of 6.5 years, has added $2.5 billion in new assets year-to-date.
Did you like this article? Could it have been improved? Please email <a href="mailto:feedback@benzinga.com">feedback@benzinga.com</a> to let us know!

Commodities

Second-Half ETF Ideas

Meeting minutes revealed by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) last week showed that the Federal Reserve could boost interest rates at its June meeting. Bond markets reacted accordingly. On May 17, Fed funds futures priced in just a 12 percent chance of a June rate hike. By May 18, that number surged <a href="http://www.ft.com/fastft/tag/federal-funds-futures/">to 25 percent</a>.
To this point, advisors and investors who enthusiastically poured billions of dollars into fixed-income exchange-traded funds this year have not started departing those funds in significant fashion. In fact, this month, some bond ETFs are keeping up already torrid paces of asset gathering.
<h3>HYG's Not So Hot, But There's More To The Story</h3>
On a month-to-date basis, the iShares iBoxx $ High Yid Corp Bond (ETF) (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/hyg#NYSE">HYG</a>) is the only bond fund among the worst 10 ETFs in terms of lost assets. Outflows from HYG started prior to the release of the most recent FOMC minutes. Conversely, four of this month&#39;s top 10 asset-gathering ETFs are bond funds and three of those are either Treasury funds or<a href="http://www.benzinga.com/trading-ideas/long-ideas/16/03/7652553/boring-bonds-boost-etf-asset-growth"> heavy on U.S. government debt</a>.
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&ldquo;Despite the fact that investors are now <a href="http://www.cmegroup.com/trading/interest-rates/countdown-to-fomc.html">pricing in</a> a 30 percent chance that the Fed will hike interest rates in its June meeting, treasuries yields are still down sharply for the year so far &ndash; which goes to show that investors are still to be fully convinced about the Fed&rsquo;s newly found hawkish stance,&rdquo; said Markit <a href="http://www.markit.com/Commentary/Get/20052016-Credit-ETF-investors-pile-in-to-treasuries-despite-Fed-noise">in a recent note</a>. &ldquo;This skepticism has been evidenced as US ETF investors have taken advantage of the recent spike in yields to buy into US treasuries. Treasury ETFs, which saw their first inflows since mid-February last week, have continued to see inflows this week with over $330 million flowing into the 52 US treasuries ETFs in the Markit ETP database.&rdquo;
<h3>A Few Others To Watch</h3>
With a rate hike potentially just a few weeks away, investors are favoring intermediate-term bond ETFs this month. For example, the Vanguard Intermediate Tm Cpte Bd ETF (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/vcit#NASDAQ">VCIT</a>) and the Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/biv#NYSE">BIV</a>) have added over $1.1 billion in new assets combined since May 1.
The iShares Barclays Aggregate Bond Fund (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/agg#NYSE">AGG</a>), which has an effective duration of 5.2 years, is this month&#39;s top asset-gathering bond ETF with $753.7 million of inflows. Year-to-date, only two ETFs have taken in more new money than AGG.
Markit notes that prior to the past two weeks, Treasury ETFs suffered 10 consecutive weeks of outflows.

Rate Hike Speculation Isn't Chasing Investors From Treasury ETFs...Yet

Momentum is one of the most widely followed investment factors, but when it comes to the application of this factor in universe of exchange-traded funds, it is most often applied to equity-based products. IndexIQ, an ETF issuer with a reputation for unique offerings, is changing that.
On Tuesday, IndexIQ introduced two new fixed income ETFs rooted in momentum strategies, the IQ Enhanced Core Bond U.S. ETF (IndexIQ ETF Trust (NYSE: AGGE)) and IQ Enhanced Core Plus Bond U.S. ETF (IndexIQ ETF Trust (NYSE: AGGP)).
<h3>AGGE</h3>
The IQ Enhanced Core Bond U.S. ETF follows the IQ Enhanced Core Bond U.S. Index and the new ETF is an ETF of ETFs, as its holdings are other bond funds. For example, AGGE&#39;s top 10 holdings include the iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corp Bd Fd (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/lqd#NYSE">LQD</a>) and the Vanguard Intermediate Tm Cpte Bd ETF (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/vcit#NASDAQ">VCIT</a>). AGGE&#39;s top five holdings also <a href="https://www.nylinvestments.com/IQetfs/etfs/IQ-Enhanced-Core-Bond-US-ETF">include three ETFs</a> holding mortgage-backed securities (MBS).
<bzrelatedlink>Related Link: <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/trading-ideas/long-ideas/16/05/7963597/global-x-adds-to-thematic-lineup-with-longevity-health-wellne">Global X Adds To Thematic Lineup With Longevity, Health &amp; Wellness ETFs</a></bzrelatedlink>
AGGE measures momentum by comparing 45- and 90-day horizons. AGGE&#39;s underlying index has a yield of nearly 2.9 percent, according to issuer data. The new ETF charges 0.34 percent per year, or $34 for every $10,000 invested. 
<h3>AGGP</h3>
The IQ Enhanced Core Plus Bond U.S. ETF follows the IQ Enhanced Core Plus Bond U.S. Index. Like the aforementioned AGGE, AGGP is an ETF of ETFs. AGGP can allocate up to 25 percent of its portfolio to high-yield corporate bonds and up to five percent to emerging markets debt, <a href="https://www.nylinvestments.com/IQetfs/etfs/IQ-Enhanced-Core-Plus-Bond-US-ETF">according to IndexIQ</a>. The new ETFs largest holdings also include LQD and VCIT.
AGGP&#39;s underlying index yields 2.63 percent, according to issuer data. The new ETF charges 0.35 percent a year, or $35 per $10,000 invested.
&ldquo;Emerging market debt has been a strong performer to start 2016, driven in large part by ongoing dovish Federal Reserve policies, improving emerging market fundamentals and a suddenly weakening dollar,&rdquo; said Salvatore Bruno, CIO of IndexIQ, in a statement. &ldquo;For the &lsquo;core plus&rsquo; approach used in AGGP, we felt it was important to have this exposure as one area our index and the fund could access when total return momentum was in the category&rsquo;s favor.&rdquo;

News

New ETFs Bring Momentum To Fixed Income

August and the first trading days of September have taught investors some harsh lessons in volatility. With exchange traded funds, investors have myriad options for reducing portfolio volatility, such as dedicated low and minimum volatility funds, but an active approach can also provide protection and profits.

	The WBI Tactical Income Shares (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/wbii#NYSE">WBII</a>), one of the fastest-growing actively managed ETFs in the US, aims to provide investors significant participation in bull markets while protecting and preserving capital during market downturns. WBII, which recently celebrated its first anniversary, has been showing its mettle as market volatility has been on the rise since early August.
<h3>
	Q2 &amp; Q3</h3>

	For the second quarter and third quarter through August 25, WBII &ldquo;produced a total net return of +0.39%, outpacing the U.S. equity market&rsquo;s return of -8.94%, based on the total return of the S&amp;P 500 Index. Risk protection is clearly shown by examining the daily returns as the U.S. equity market declined precipitously on Thursday, August 20 through Tuesday, August 25. The average daily protection provided during this four-day market stress-test was +2.44% excess return per day,&rdquo; according to New Jersey-based <a href="http://www.wbiinvestments.com/index.php/products/exchange-traded-funds">WBI Investments</a>.

	Related Link: <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/trading-ideas/long-ideas/15/09/5812332/mexico-catching-up-to-brazil-etf-investors-dont-care">Mexico Catching Up To Brazil; ETF Investors Don&#39;t Care</a>

	Low volatility is one of WBII&#39;s calling cards, but so is low correlations, meaning the ETF&#39;s active management allows it to shift asset classes when volatile markets call for reduced equity exposure. Said another way, WBII proved durable in weathering the recent market storm because as of August 25, the ETF allocated over 84 percent of its weight to corporate bonds and U.S. government debt.

	Entering Thursday, the ETF had a 17.6 percent weight to short-term Treasurys as well as positions in the Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/vcit#NYSE">VCIT</a>), the iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/ief#NYSE">IEF</a>) and the iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/hyg#NYSE">HYG</a>). WBII&#39;s top equity holdings currently are Teva Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/teva#NASDAQ">TEVA</a>) and Altria Inc. (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/mo#NYSE">MO</a>). Those stocks combine for almost 8 percent of WBII&#39;s weight, <a href="http://www.wbishares.com/products#9-1-fund-top-holdings">according to issuer data</a>.

	&quot;Low exposure to equities and larger exposures to more stable fixed income and cash allocations is plainly evident, and this conservative positioning contributed meaningfully to the risk reduction discussed earlier. With 44 percent allocated to cash and government bonds and only 6 percent to equities, the fund was able to &#39;tame the bear&#39; during this significant market dislocation through a conservative positioning, aiming for safety of capital,&rdquo; notes WBI Investments.

	WBII yields just over 1.12 percent, the result of the management team&#39;s efforts to reduce interest rate risk by focusing on shorter duration fare. The ETF has accumulated over $300 million in assets under management in just 13 months on the market.

Intraday Update

TEVA

WBII

An ETF That Provides Shelter From Stormy Markets

Not surprisingly, Vanguard, the third-largest U.S. ETF sponsor, has something to say about the ongoing 2012 ETF fee battle. Pennsylvania-based, known for being one of the ETF industry's low-cost leaders, announced fee reductions for 11 of its ETFs. The fee reductions took effect last week, <a href="https://advisors.vanguard.com/VGApp/iip/site/advisor/researchcommentary/article/IWE_NewsDec2012ExpenseRatio">according to a statement issued by Vanguard</a>.

The 11 Vanguard ETFs that are now home to lower fees include the Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/vcit#NASDAQ">VCIT</a>), which now has an expense ratio of 0.12 percent down from 0.14 percent. The Vanguard Intermediate-Term Government Bond ETF (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/vgit#NASDAQ">VGIT</a>), the Vanguard Long-Term Corporate Bond ETF (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/vclt#NASDAQ">VCLT</a>) and the Vanguard Long-Term Government Bond ETF (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/vglt#NASDAQ">VGLT</a>) also saw fee reductions to 0.12 percent per year from 0.14 percent.

Other fee reductions include the Vanguard Mortgage-Backed Securities Index ETF (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/vmbs#NASDAQ">VMBS</a>) going to 0.12 percent from 0.15 percent. The Vanguard Russell 1000 Value Index ETF (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/vonv#NASDAQ">VONV</a>) now charges 0.15 percent down from 0.16 percent while the Vanguard Russell 2000 Index ETF (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/vtwo#NASDAQ">VTWO</a>) saw its fees reduced to 0.21 percent from 0.22 percent.

Vanguard lowered fees on another small-cap ETF, taking the expense ratio on the Vanguard Russell 2000 Value Index ETF (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/vtwv#NASDAQ">VTWV</a>) to 0.32 percent per year from 0.33 percent. The Vanguard Russell 3000 Index ETF (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/vthr#NASDAQ">VTHR</a>) is now charging 0.15 percent down from 0.16 percent.

The Vanguard Short-Term Corp Bond Index ETF (NASDAQ: VSCH) and the Vanguard Short-Term Government Bond Index ETF (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/vgsh#NASDAQ">VGSH</a>) both saw fee cuts to 0.12 percent per year from 0.14 percent.

Over the past year, a broad swath of ETF issuers have lowered fees in an effort to attract fresh capital from investors. Vanguard's most recent fee-cut announcement is by no means the firm's first and issuers such as Charles Schwab (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/schw#NYSE">SCHW</a>) and State Street's (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/stt#NYSE">STT</a>) State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) have announced fee reductions of their own. SSgA is the second-largest U.S. ETF sponsor.

BlackRock's (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/blk#NYSE">BLK</a>) iShares, the world's largest ETF issuer and the firm often viewed as Vanguard's primary rival, announced fee cuts of its own earlier this year. In late November, Invesco's (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/ivz#NYSE">IVZ</a>) PowerShares unit, the fourth-largest U.S. ETF sponsor, <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/news/12/11/3128183/powershares-fires-its-own-shot-in-etf-fee-war">signaled it would not be left out of the fee war</a> by announcing lower fees on six of its ETFs.

For its part, Vanguard's fee cuts may not be a direct response to what rival firms are doing, but rather the result of the firm's corporate structure and its ability to drive cost savings through economies of scale.

"Other investment firms may lower costs as a business strategy to attract assets," the firm said in the statement. "For Vanguard, our unique client-owned corporate structure is what drives the low costs of our funds. Since we are a mutually owned firm, low costs are an outcome that is directly tied to how much it costs us to manage our funds. Economies of scale and a focus on keeping operating costs low have resulted in a long track record of Vanguard lowering costs across the board."

For more on ETFs, click <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/etfs">here</a>.

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Vanguard Fires 1 More Shot in 2012 ETF Fee War

PIMCO introduced two new ETFs on September 21, 2010: PIMCO Build America Bond Strategy Fund (BABZ), the first actively-managed BABs ETF, and PIMCO Investment Grade Corporate Bond Index Fund (CORP).  The new listings boost PIMCO's ETF offerings to twelve, consisting of four <a href="http://investwithanedge.com/category/actively-managed-etfs" target="_blank">actively-managed</a> and eight indexed funds.
PIMCO Build America Bond Strategy Fund (BABZ) is an actively-managed ETF targeting taxable municipal bonds issued as part of the Build America Bonds (BABs) program.  It will attempt to capture attractive yield opportunities in this segment while avoiding securities from municipalities that PIMCO believes face deteriorating credit quality. The fund is managed by John Cummings, executive vice president and head of PIMCO's municipal bond desk.
The expense ratio is capped at 0.45%.  The <a href="http://www.pimcoetfs.com/FundInfo/Pages/BABZ.aspx?WT.svl=FundListingHomePage" target="_blank">BABZ snapshot</a> page currently does not have much data but will eventually provide information on maturity, duration, yield, and holdings.  Additional information can be found in the <a href="http://www.pimcoetfs.com/FundInfo/Documents/BABZ_PIMCO_Build_America_Bond_Strategy_Fund.pdf" target="_blank">BABZ fact sheet</a> (pdf) and <a href="http://www.pimcoetfs.com/Documents/PIMCO_BABZ%20ETF%20QA.PDF" target="_blank">PIMCO's BABs ETF Strategy</a> (pdf) document.
BABZ will compete with <a href="http://investwithanedge.com/three-new-etfs-on-tuesday-mna-mint-bab" target="_blank">PowerShares Build America Bonds</a> (<a class="ticker" href="/stock/bab#">BAB</a>) and <a href="http://investwithanedge.com/babs-build-america-bond-etf-from-spdr" target="_blank">SPDR Nuveen Barclays Build America Bond</a> (<a class="ticker" href="/stock/babs#">BABS</a>), both of which are index based funds with 0.35% expense ratios.
PIMCO Investment Grade Corporate Bond Index Fund (CORP) is technically classified as an index ETF that seeks to track an index of investment grade U.S. corporate debt issues.  However, PIMCO's proprietary optimization process will try to avoid securities the firm believes may be hard to trade or deemed to have the highest risk of credit loss.
The underlying BofA Merrill Lynch US Corporate Index has an average maturity of 10.2 years, a modified duration of 6.5, and consists of 4,204 issues.  Current monthly yield is approximately 5.4%, making the expected distribution yield on CORP to be about 5.2% after subtracting out the 0.20% capped expense ratio.  Additional information can be found on the <a href="http://www.pimcoetfs.com/FundInfo/Pages/CORP.aspx?WT.svl=FundListingHomePage" target="_blank">CORP snapshot</a> page and the <a href="http://www.pimcoetfs.com/FundInfo/Documents/CORP_PIMCO_Investment_Grade_Corporate_Bond_Index_Fund.pdf" target="_blank">CORP fact sheet</a> (pdf).
CORP will face competition from 15 existing investment grade corporate ETFs, most notably from <a href="http://us.ishares.com/product_info/fund/overview/LQD.htm" target="_blank">iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond</a> (<a class="ticker" href="/stock/lqd#">LQD</a>), <a href="http://investwithanedge.com/vanguard-launches-new-bond-etfs" target="_blank">Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF</a> (<a class="ticker" href="/stock/vcit#">VCIT</a>), and <a href="http://investwithanedge.com/vanguard-launches-new-bond-etfs" target="_blank">Vanguard Long-Term Corporate Bond ETF</a> (<a class="ticker" href="/stock/vclt#">VCLT</a>).
Disclosure covering writer, editor, and publisher:  No positions in any of the securities mentioned.  No positions in any of the companies or ETF sponsors mentioned.  No income, revenue, or other compensation (either directly or indirectly) received from, or on behalf of, any of the companies or ETF sponsors mentioned.
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SPDR Nuveen Barclays Capital Build America Bond ETF

BABS

PIMCO Introduces BABs and Corporate Bond ETFs

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U.S. equities see the largest net buying since late February - GS

<a href="https://investorplace.com">InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice &amp; Trading Tips</a>
If you ask investors to name one or more Vanguard ETFs, they&rsquo;ll tend to rhyme off some of the asset manager&rsquo;s largest funds.&nbsp;



Of the <a href="https://etfdb.com/compare/market-cap/">100 largest ETFs</a> by assets, Vanguard has five in the top 10, 12 in the top 25, and 32 in the top 100. That makes sense, given it is the second-largest ETF provider by assets under management, with <a href="https://www.etf.com/sections/etf-league-tables/jpmorgans-aum-jumps-12-bln-ytd-etf-league-tables-april-9">$2.55 trillion</a> as of April 9.&nbsp;



However, Vanguard has <a href="https://etfdb.com/etfs/issuers/">86 ETFs</a>. Not all of them are in the top 100. It has 18 ETFs with net assets of less than $1 billion. That&rsquo;s about 21% of its ETFs.&nbsp;



The largest ETF provider by net assets is iShares, with $2.75 billion spread across <a href="https://www.etf.com/topics/ishares">411 ETFs</a>. Of those, 58% have net assets of less than $1 billion. It would be much easier to do this exercise with iShares ETFs.&nbsp;



That&rsquo;s not to be.&nbsp;



Here are three smaller Vanguard ETFs to consider for your portfolio.&nbsp;&nbsp;



<h2>Vanguard Total Corporate Bond ETF (VTC)</h2>



<div><img width="300" height="169" src="https://investorplace.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/vanguard1600-1-300x169.jpg" alt="vanguard website displayed on a mobile phone screen representing vanguard etfs"><div>Source: Shutterstock</div></div>The Vanguard Total Corporate Bond ETF (NASDAQ:<a href="https://investorplace.com/stock-quotes/vtc-stock-quote/">VTC</a>) has net assets of <a href="https://investor.vanguard.com/investment-products/etfs/profile/vtc#price">$981 million</a> and charges 0.04% or $4 per $10,000 invested.



The ETF tracks the performance of the Bloomberg U.S. Corporate Bond Index, which provides investors with exposure to investment-grade U.S. corporate bonds. Although the overall portfolio has an intermediate-duration focus, it does provide exposure to short (40%), intermediate (28%), and long-term maturities (32%).&nbsp;



The ETF owns 7503 corporate bonds, 454 less than the index. It holds them through three Vanguard ETFs: Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond ETF (NASDAQ:<a href="https://investorplace.com/stock-quotes/vcsh-stock-quote/">VCSH</a>), Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF (NASDAQ:<a href="https://investorplace.com/stock-quotes/vcit-stock-quote/">VCIT</a>), and the Vanguard Long-Term Corporate Bond ETF (NASDAQ:<a href="https://investorplace.com/stock-quotes/vclt-stock-quote/">VCLT</a>). &nbsp;



The bonds&rsquo; average coupon is 4.2%, with a 5.3% yield to maturity and an average duration of 7.0 years. The portfolio is rotated once every 10 years or so.&nbsp;



The top three countries by weight are the U.S. (84.9%), the UK (4.3%), and Canada (3.2%)&mdash;bonds with credit ratings of BBB or A account for 92% of the portfolio.&nbsp;



You won&rsquo;t get rich from VTC, but the 30-day SEC yield is a healthy 4.04%.&nbsp;



<h2>Vanguard S&amp;P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF (IVOG)</h2>



<div><img width="300" height="169" src="https://investorplace.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/midcap-stocks-1600-300x169.jpg" alt="Mid-Cap Stocks Class Category Market Ticker Prices 3d Illustration"><div>Source: iQoncept / Shutterstock.com</div></div>I&rsquo;m a sucker for mid-cap stocks, so the Vanguard S&amp;P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF (NYSEARCA:<a href="https://investorplace.com/stock-quotes/ivog-stock-quote/">IVOG</a>) just had to make my trio of smaller Vanguard ETFs. It helps that Morningstar.com gives it a <a href="https://www.morningstar.com/etfs/arcx/ivog/quote">four-star rating</a>.&nbsp;



If you&rsquo;re unfamiliar with the S&amp;P MidCap 400 Index, it&rsquo;s a collection of 400 mid-cap stocks representing approximately <a href="https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/documents/additional-material/sp-midcap-400-brochure.pdf">5%</a> of the U.S. equity market. IVOG tracks the performance of the S&amp;P MidCap 400 Growth Index, which provides exposure to <a href="https://investor.vanguard.com/investment-products/etfs/profile/ivog#portfolio-composition">245 growth stocks</a> from the 400 in the parent index.&nbsp;



The average stock in IVOG has a median market cap of $9.7 billion, a five-year earnings growth rate of 18.8%, and a P/E ratio of 21.6x. It turns the portfolio every two years.&nbsp;



The top three sectors by weight are industrials (28.20%), consumer discretionary (17.80%), and technology (11.70%). The fund&rsquo;s top 10 holdings account for <a href="https://www.morningstar.com/etfs/arcx/ivog/portfolio">12%</a> of its <a href="https://www.morningstar.com/etfs/arcx/ivog/quote">$961.3 million</a> in net assets.



Of the top 10 holdings, I like Vistra (NYSE:<a href="https://investorplace.com/stock-quotes/vst-stock-quote/">VST</a>), Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:<a href="https://investorplace.com/stock-quotes/wsm-stock-quote/">WSM</a>), and Lennox International (NYSE:<a href="https://investorplace.com/stock-quotes/lii-stock-quote/">LII</a>).&nbsp;



It charges a reasonable 0.15%.&nbsp;&nbsp;



<h2>Vanguard US Quality Factor ETF (VFQY)&nbsp;&nbsp;</h2>



<div><img width="300" height="169" src="https://investorplace.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/vanguard-1-300x169.jpg" alt="vanguard ETFs: The Vanguard website is displayed on a laptop screen. vanguard etfs. blue chip stocks"><div>Source: Casimiro PT / Shutterstock.com</div></div>Vanguard US Quality Factor ETF (BATS:<a href="https://investorplace.com/stock-quotes/vfqy-stock-quote/">VFQY</a>) doesn&rsquo;t track the performance of a particular index.&nbsp;



Instead, portfolio managers use a <a href="https://personal1.vanguard.com/pub/Pdf/sp4417.pdf?2210149095">quantitative model</a> to evaluate stocks of all market caps and construct a portfolio of companies with solid fundamentals. These fundamentals include strong profitability, sustainable earnings, and healthy balance sheets.&nbsp;




VFQY&rsquo;s website <a href="https://investor.vanguard.com/investment-products/etfs/profile/vfqy#portfolio-composition">states</a> the portfolio &ldquo;includes a diverse mix of stocks representing many different market capitalizations (large, mid, and small), market sectors, and industry groups.&rdquo;




The 362 stocks in its portfolio have a median market cap of $27.3 billion, a five-year earnings growth rate of 15.4%, and a P/E ratio of 19.6x. Large-cap stocks account for <a href="https://www.morningstar.com/etfs/bats/vfqy/portfolio">43%</a> of the ETF, mid-caps (25%), and small caps (32%).&nbsp;



The top three sectors by weight are industrials (22.20%), consumer discretionary (20.30%), and technology (19.80%). Its top 10 holdings account for 15% of the fund&rsquo;s net assets. Of the top 10 holdings, the only stock I don&rsquo;t like is 3M (NYSE:<a href="https://investorplace.com/stock-quotes/mmm-stock-quote/">MMM</a>). It just has too many issues.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



The ETF has $334.2 million in net assets and charges 0.13%.&nbsp;&nbsp;



On the date of publication, Will Ashworth did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com<a href="https://investorplace.com/corporate/investorplace-publishing-guidelines/"> Publishing Guidelines</a>.
<div>Will Ashworth has written about investments full-time since 2008. Publications where he&rsquo;s appeared include InvestorPlace, The Motley Fool Canada, Investopedia, Kiplinger, and several others in both the U.S. and Canada. He particularly enjoys creating model portfolios that stand the test of time. He lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.</div><h3>More From InvestorPlace</h3>
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The post <a href="https://investorplace.com/2024/04/vanguards-hidden-gems-3-smaller-etfs-poised-for-big-gains/">Vanguard&#8217;s Hidden Gems: 3 Smaller ETFs Poised for Big Gains</a> appeared first on <a href="https://investorplace.com">InvestorPlace</a>.