News release
VALLEY FORGE, PA (March 23, 2021)—Vanguard today announced it is broadening the accessibility and utility of three ETFs in its Russell Index series by employing forward share splits. Vanguard Russell 1000 Value ETF (VONV) and Vanguard Russell 2000 ETF (VTWO) have declared a two-for-one share split, and Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth ETF (VONG) has declared a four-for-one share split.
“Vanguard carefully monitors fund health to ensure that funds are performing as expected, being appropriately utilized, and aligning with investor-desired outcomes,” said Kaitlyn Caughlin, head of Vanguard Portfolio Review Department. “Vanguard is employing ETF share splits to keep share prices within efficient and accessible trading ranges, which benefits investors with ETF-centric portfolios by reducing uninvested cash in client accounts.”
Vanguard periodically and diligently assesses its ETF lineup to determine when and where share splits would most benefit investor outcomes. A number of factors are considered, including ETF market price, bid-ask spread, and trading volume. These three ETFs meet Vanguard’s rigorous standards for executing a share split at this time.
Financial advisors are increasingly utilizing Vanguard ETFs through Vanguard-managed or third-party models to construct low cost, broadly diversified portfolios on behalf of their clients. Lower share prices enhance the functionality and utility of these ETFs within those models, particularly when rebalancing client portfolios.
The share splits for Vanguard Russell 1000 Value ETF and Vanguard Russell 2000 ETF will result in each shareholder receiving one additional ETF share for every share held. Similarly, shareholders of Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth ETF will receive three additional shares for every one share held. All investors who own shares as of the close of trading on Monday, April 19, 2021, will have their shares included in the share split. The shares are expected to start trading at the new split-adjusted price beginning April 20, 2021. Importantly, ETF share splits have no impact on the market value of an investor's holdings of the ETF and do not trigger any tax consequences.
Vanguard’s ETF leadership
With $1.7 trillion in ETF assets under management globally and a lineup of 81 U.S.-domiciled ETFs, Vanguard is one of the industry’s leading ETF issuers. Vanguard is committed to providing choice and flexibility, enabling advisors and investors to build low-cost, broadly diversified portfolios that meet their unique investment needs. Vanguard pioneered the indexing strategy for individual investors and was an early proponent of ETFs to broaden the availability of passive strategies to more investors. The firm recently announced plans to introduce its first actively managed fixed income ETF, Vanguard Ultra-Short Bond ETF, in the second quarter of 2021.
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About Vanguard
Vanguard is one of the world’s largest investment management companies. As of February 28, 2021, Vanguard managed $7.3 trillion in global assets. The firm, headquartered in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, offers 437 funds to its more than 30 million investors worldwide. For more information, visit vanguard.com.
All figures as of February 28, 2021 unless stated otherwise.
For more information about Vanguard funds, visit vanguard.com to obtain a prospectus or, if available, a summary prospectus. Investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses, and other important information about a fund are contained in the prospectus; read and consider it carefully before investing. Copies of the prospectus can be obtained from Vanguard
Vanguard ETF Shares are not redeemable with the issuing fund other than in very large aggregations worth millions of dollars. Instead, investors must buy and sell Vanguard ETF Shares in the secondary market and hold those shares in a brokerage account. In doing so, the investor may incur brokerage commissions and may pay more than net asset value when buying and receive less than net asset value when selling.
All investing is subject to risk, including the possible loss of the money you invest. Investments in bonds are subject to interest rate, credit, and inflation risk. Diversification does not ensure a profit or protect against a loss.
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