Vanguard Cuts ETF Fees

On Feb. 26, 2019, Vanguard announced that it is cutting the expense ratios for 10 exchange-traded funds, including Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF VWO, Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF VGK, Vanguard FTSE Pacific ETF VPL, Vanguard FTSE All-Wld ex-US ETF VEU, Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US Small-Cap ETF VSS, Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF VYM, Vanguard Total World Stock ETF VT, Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond ETF VTEB, Vanguard Total International Bond ETF BNDX, and Vanguard Total International Stock ETF VXUS.

Per Vanguard, these fee cuts were a response to the increased adoption of ETFs as a preferred vehicle, allowing the firm to pass along the cost savings from scaling these investment strategies. Vanguard has historically charged the same fee for a given fund's ETF and Admiral share classes. This marks the first time that the ETF share class will charge less than the Admiral share class. These funds continue to rank among the low-cost leaders in their respective Morningstar Categories. So, these fee cuts are a directional improvement for investors but do not impact our Morningstar Analyst Ratings.