VIS: Vanguard Industrials ETF

Vanguard Industrials ETF (VIS) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) run by Vanguard. This fund owns shares of about 400 US industrial companies. It charges 0.09% a year. From September 2004 to October 2026 it returned about 10.5% a year, and its worst drop was −63.5%.

Written by the Tactfolio research team. Fund facts checked October 17, 2026. Prices through October 16, 2026.

Yearly fee
0.09%
about $9 on $10,000
Return per year
10.5%
since September 2004
Worst drop
−63.5%
since 2004
Started trading
Sep 2004
Vanguard

Key points

  • Expense ratio: 0.09% a year (about $9 on $10,000).
  • Started trading on September 23, 2004.
  • Worst drop since 2004: −63.5%.
  • No Tactfolio classic strategies hold it.

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.

FactVIS
Full nameVanguard Industrials ETF
IssuerVanguard
Expense ratio0.09% a year
Started tradingSeptember 23, 2004
TracksMSCI US Investable Market Industrials 25/50 Index
TypeUS stocks, ETF
Holdings396 holdings as of September 30, 2026
Facts checkedOctober 17, 2026 on the Vanguard fund page

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.

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

How has VIS done since 2004?#

$10k$20k$50k$100k20052008201120142017202020232026
VISGrowth 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. Say you put in $10,000 at the start. It would have been worth about $89,980 at the end, with every dividend reinvested.

MeasureVIS
Total return799.8%
Return per year (CAGR)10.5%
Worst drop from a high−63.5%
Volatility (how much it swings)21.3%
Last 12 months10.2%
Last 3 years, per year19.0%
Last 5 years, per year11.6%
Last 10 years, per year13.1%

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 year#

YearVIS return
2026 (part of the year)8.2%
202518.6%
202416.9%
202322.5%
2022−8.6%
202120.8%
202012.3%
201930.1%
2018−14.0%
201721.5%
201620.4%
2015−3.5%
20146.8%
201341.9%
201217.2%
2011−2.3%
201027.3%
200922.1%
2008−39.8%
200713.2%
200615.2%
20055.5%
2004 (part of the year)12.2%

What was VIS’s worst drop?#

0%−10%−20%−30%−40%−50%−60%20052008201120142017202020232026
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.

The chart shows how far below its last high the fund was on each day. Big drops are normal for some funds. They matter because selling during a drop locks in the loss.

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. 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.

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.

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#