Vanguard ESG International Stock ETF

Vanguard ESG International Stock ETF (VSGX) is an index fund that tracks the FTSE Global All Cap ex US Choice Index. The index covers large, mid and small companies in developed and emerging markets outside the US, screened by FTSE Russell for environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria. The screens remove fossil fuel, weapons, nuclear power, tobacco, alcohol and gambling companies, among others. Its 0.10% expense ratio is double the 0.05% average of similar funds.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, VSGX returned +14.3%, 5th of 9 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +7.7%.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-18.6%); its best was 2025 (+30.8%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 32.1% (Sep 7, 2021 to Oct 14, 2022), recovered by Aug 23, 2024.

As of Aug 31, 2026, the fund held 6,625 securities; the ten largest made up 16.87% of assets.

• Over the three months to Aug 31, 2026, investors added a net $91.2M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +1.04%, -2.57%, +3.72%.

VSGX tracks the FTSE Global All Cap ex US Choice Index, built by FTSE Russell. The index includes large, mid and small companies from developed and emerging markets outside the US. It weights them by market capitalization, meaning the total value of a company's shares, so bigger companies take up more of the fund. As of August 31, 2026, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing was the largest holding at 5.4%, followed by Samsung Electronics (2.6%), SK hynix (2.0%) and ASML (2.0%). Japan was the largest country at 16.3%.

The ESG screens drop companies with a specified level of involvement in, or revenue from, adult entertainment, alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, gambling, many kinds of weapons, civilian firearms, nuclear power, and coal, oil or gas. The cutoff differs from one activity to the next. FTSE Russell also removes companies it judges fall short on labor, human rights, environmental, anti-corruption or diversity standards.

Vanguard doesn't buy every stock in the index. It uses sampling, which means holding a broad set of stocks that matches the index's key traits, and it keeps at least 80% of net assets in index stocks. As of August 31, 2026, it held 6,625 stocks. Turnover was 8%, so the fund trades little, but the index's members change over time.

• VSGX charges 0.1% a year, versus an average of 0.05% for the similar funds below (9th of 9, cheapest first).
• Of that, 0.08% is the management fee; the rest covers other fund expenses.
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $10 in the first year and $128 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

With 6,625 stocks across developed and emerging markets as of August 31, 2026, it could serve as the international stock portion of a portfolio for investors who want ESG screening.

VSGX launched in 2018, so it has no record from 2008. It lost 22.91% in the first quarter of 2020 but ended that year up 13.52%. In the 2022 bear market it fell 30.1% and needed about 21 months, until July 2024, to recover. Its deepest drop was 32.1%, from September 2021 to October 2022, and it took about 22 months to recover. Its worst calendar year was 2022, at -18.59%. Anyone forced to sell shares during a stretch like that would lock in losses.

The trailing 12-month yield was 3.06% as of October 27, 2026, paid quarterly. In the SEC's standard example, the 0.10% expense ratio costs $128 over 10 years on $10,000. Past results don't predict future ones, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports.