VIS ETF: fees, returns, drawdowns and holdings

How has VIS done since 2004?#

VISS&P 500 (SPY)Growth of $10,000, log scale, with dividends reinvested. Past results do not tell you what happens next.

From September 2004 to October 2026, VIS returned about 10.5% a year. The S&P 500 returned about 11.1% a year over the same dates. Say you put in $10,000 at the start. It would have been worth about $89,980 at the end, with every dividend reinvested.

Period	VIS	S&P 500 (SPY)
1 month	−0.8%	1.5%
3 months	−7.4%	1.9%
6 months	−2.9%	9.3%
Year to date	8.2%	12.8%
1 year	10.2%	16.8%
3 years per year	19.0%	22.0%
5 years per year	11.6%	12.8%
10 years per year	13.1%	15.4%
Since 2004 per year	10.5%	11.1%

Periods longer than a year show the return per year (CAGR). Prices through October 16, 2026. Figures use daily closing prices adjusted for splits, with dividends reinvested. They do not include taxes or the cost of buying and selling. Past results do not tell you what will happen next.

VIS returns by month and year#

VIS rose in 166 of its 266 months (62%). Its best month was April 2009, at 19.2%. Its worst was March 2020, at −20.1%.

Return each month, in percent
Year	Total	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2026	8.2%	7.3	6.8	−8.4	8.9	0.2	6.0	−4.4	−2.5	−4.3	0.0
2025	18.6%	4.7	−2.6	−4.3	0.1	8.7	4.2	3.5	0.5	2.0	1.4	−1.1	0.8
2024	16.9%	−1.2	7.1	4.9	−4.1	2.4	−1.5	5.6	1.8	3.2	−1.0	8.6	−8.7
2023	22.5%	5.6	−0.5	−0.4	−1.0	−2.3	12.0	3.1	−2.0	−5.8	−3.9	9.5	7.9
2022	−8.6%	−6.3	−0.5	3.1	−7.9	−0.8	−7.7	10.6	−2.6	−10.0	12.9	7.2	−3.8
2021	20.8%	−2.9	6.8	7.7	3.6	2.5	−2.0	0.5	1.0	−5.4	6.8	−3.1	4.7
2020	12.3%	−0.6	−9.2	−20.1	9.5	5.9	1.9	4.5	8.3	−1.1	−1.1	16.8	2.0
2019	30.1%	11.3	6.3	−1.3	4.6	−7.5	8.2	0.8	−3.1	3.1	1.4	4.3	0.1
2018	−14.0%	4.6	−4.4	−2.0	−2.7	3.3	−2.5	6.7	0.8	1.5	−11.2	3.6	−11.0
2017	21.5%	1.4	3.4	−0.6	1.9	0.7	1.6	0.2	0.0	4.8	0.7	3.9	1.9
2016	20.4%	−6.4	3.9	7.7	1.1	0.1	0.3	3.8	1.2	−0.1	−2.2	9.7	0.7
2015	−3.5%	−3.9	6.2	−1.5	−0.6	0.4	−2.2	0.0	−5.2	−2.9	8.7	1.2	−2.8
2014	6.8%	−4.0	4.1	0.7	0.9	1.8	0.9	−4.5	4.4	−2.4	3.9	2.8	−1.4
2013	41.9%	6.2	2.5	3.1	−1.2	5.0	−1.5	6.2	−2.8	6.2	4.8	3.7	4.2
2012	17.2%	7.5	2.9	1.3	−0.9	−6.2	2.9	0.1	1.9	1.8	0.1	2.0	3.2
2011	−2.3%	3.6	2.7	2.1	2.6	−3.0	−0.9	−6.8	−7.0	−10.2	15.2	0.8	0.9
2010	27.3%	−2.1	4.9	8.7	4.4	−8.9	−7.0	9.9	−7.6	11.8	3.5	1.8	7.9
2009	22.1%	−12.5	−16.9	8.7	19.2	2.9	−1.6	9.4	3.9	6.8	−4.8	8.0	2.7
2008	−39.8%	−5.3	−2.1	2.0	2.9	2.1	−11.2	1.8	1.5	−12.8	−19.5	−8.7	3.0
2007	13.2%	2.2	−0.5	0.4	4.7	5.7	−0.1	0.8	−0.6	4.1	0.7	−3.9	−0.6
2006	15.2%	1.9	3.0	4.6	2.1	−2.4	−0.3	−5.6	1.2	3.2	3.3	2.9	0.8
2005	5.5%	−3.0	1.5	−0.1	−3.9	3.7	−1.6	4.5	−2.7	2.4	−1.0	5.7	0.6
2004	12.2%									0.8	1.1	6.9	3.0

Each month runs from the last close of the month before. The first month counts from the first close.

How risky is VIS compared with the S&P 500?#

Measured from October 2021 to October 2026, on the days both traded.

Beta 0.93. When the S&P 500 moved 1% in a day, VIS tended to move about 0.93%.
Correlation 0.86. VIS mostly moved with the S&P 500.
Up and down months. In months the S&P 500 rose, VIS rose 96% as much on average. In months it fell, VIS fell 96% as much.

Measure	VIS	S&P 500 (SPY)
Return per year	11.6%	12.8%
Volatility	18.6%	17.1%
Worst drop	−23.0%	−24.5%
Sharpe ratio	0.68	0.79
Sortino ratio	1.00	1.15
Calmar ratio	0.50	0.52

Volatility is how much the price swings in a year. The Sharpe ratio is return per unit of volatility, the Sortino ratio counts only the falls, and the Calmar ratio is the return per year over the worst drop. Higher ratios mean more return for the risk taken.

Is VIS above its 200-day average?#

VIS closed 3.8% below its 200-day average on October 16, 2026. A rule that holds VIS only above that average would be out of it today.

vs 200-day average: −3.8%; below it
50-day vs 200-day: +0.1%; trend rising
vs 52-week high: −10.9%; high of $359.61

A moving average is the average close over the last so many days. Trend rules such as the 10-month moving average strategy hold a fund only while it is above one. You can build that rule for VIS and backtest it in a minute.

What was VIS’s worst drop?#

Drawdown: how far VIS was below its last high on each day.

A drawdown is how far a fund falls from its last high point. VIS’s worst fall was −63.5%, from October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009. It got back to that high on December 18, 2012. On October 16, 2026 it was 10.9% below its highest close.

Drop	From the high	To the bottom	Back to the high
−63.5%	Oct 9, 2007	Mar 9, 200917 months	Dec 18, 20123.8 years
−42.4%	Feb 12, 2020	Mar 23, 202040 days	Nov 9, 20208 months
−24.4%	Sep 21, 2018	Dec 24, 20183 months	Jul 24, 20197 months
−23.0%	Nov 16, 2021	Sep 30, 202210 months	Jun 29, 20239 months
−20.8%	Nov 29, 2024	Apr 8, 20254 months	Jun 27, 20253 months

Big drops are normal for some funds. They matter because selling during a drop locks in the loss.

What does VIS hold?#

This fund owns shares of about 400 US industrial companies. They make things like machines and airplane parts, or run railroads, trucking, and business services. It holds only one part of the stock market, so it is less spread out than a broad fund.

It tracks the MSCI US Investable Market Industrials 25/50 Index. It had 396 holdings as of September 30, 2026, according to Vanguard.

What is the VIS expense ratio?#

VIS charges 0.09% a year. An expense ratio is the yearly fee a fund takes to run itself. On $10,000, a 0.09% fee comes to about $9 a year. Of the 162 ETFs on Tactfolio, 52% charge more.

You never get a bill for it. The fund takes the fee out of its own value a little each day.

0.09%

Which Tactfolio strategies hold VIS?#

No classic strategy holds VIS yet. You can add it to your own rules in the builder and see how they would have done.

How does VIS compare with similar ETFs?#

Funds that can stand in for VIS:

XLI: State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF, 0.08% a year
XLB: State Street Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF, 0.08% a year
VAW: Vanguard Materials ETF, 0.09% a year
VTV: Vanguard Morningstar Value ETF, 0.03% a year

See all 8 VIS alternatives, compared on the same dates as VIS.

Test VIS in your own rules#

Tactfolio is a platform where you build rules-based investing strategies, backtest them on decades of real prices, share them, and run them automatically in your own Alpaca account. Open the builder, add VIS, and see how a rule such as “hold it only above its 200-day average” would have done. Strategies run on daily prices and hold US stocks and ETFs only.

The details#

Prices come from Tactfolio’s stored daily prices for VIS and SPY. Each close is adjusted for splits, and dividends are reinvested on the day the fund pays them out. CAGR is the steady yearly return that turns the starting value into the ending value. Volatility is the yearly standard deviation of daily returns. Beta and correlation compare daily returns with the S&P 500 over the same dates.

Fund facts come from Vanguard. We checked them on October 17, 2026. Read what a backtest simulates and how to read drawdown and CAGR for more on these measures.

Common questions#

What is the expense ratio of VIS?#

VIS charges 0.09% a year, according to Vanguard as of October 17, 2026. That is about $9 a year for every $10,000 you hold.

When did VIS start trading?#

VIS started trading on September 23, 2004. It is run by Vanguard.

What does VIS track?#

VIS tracks the MSCI US Investable Market Industrials 25/50 Index. This fund owns shares of about 400 US industrial companies.

How much has VIS returned per year?#

From September 2004 to October 2026, VIS returned about 10.5% a year with dividends reinvested. Its worst drop was −63.5%. Past returns do not tell you what it will do next.

Is VIS above its 200-day moving average?#

On October 16, 2026, VIS closed 3.8% below its 200-day moving average. This page updates after each US market close.

Which strategies use VIS?#

None of Tactfolio’s classic strategies hold VIS yet. You can test it in your own rules in the builder.

Sources#

Vanguard: Vanguard Industrials ETF fund page