Yahoo Finance Should Vanguard Mega Cap ETF (MGC) Be on Your Investing Radar?
Looking for broad exposure to the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market? You should consider the Vanguard Mega Cap ETF (MGC), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 12/17/2007.
The fund is sponsored by Vanguard. It has amassed assets over $5.21 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.
Why Large Cap Blend
Companies that fall in the large cap category tend to have a market capitalization above $10 billion. They tend to be stable companies with predictable cash flows and are usually less volatile than mid and small cap companies.
Blend ETFs usually hold a mix of growth and value stocks as well as stocks that exhibit both value and growth characteristics.
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 0.07%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.31%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
ETFs offer a diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector--about 31.90% of the portfolio. Financials and Healthcare round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Microsoft Corp (MSFT) accounts for about 8.47% of total assets, followed by Apple Inc (AAPL) and Nvidia Corp (NVDA).
The top 10 holdings account for about 37.88% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
MGC seeks to match the performance of the CRSP US Mega Cap Index before fees and expenses. The CRSP U.S. Mega Cap Index includes the largest U.S. companies, with a target of including the top 70% of investable market capitalization. The index includes securities traded on NYSE, NYSE Market, NASDAQ or ARCA.
The ETF return is roughly 7.19% so far this year and it's up approximately 26.94% in the last one year (as of 04/25/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $141.80 and $187.03.
The ETF has a beta of 1 and standard deviation of 17.47% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 215 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
Vanguard Mega Cap ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, MGC is a sufficient option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.
The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) track a similar index. While iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $437.51 billion in assets, SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $510.33 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and SPY charges 0.09%.
Bottom-Line
An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.
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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Vanguard Mega Cap ETF (MGC): ETF Research Reports
Apple Inc. (AAPL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY): ETF Research Reports
iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV): ETF Research Reports
