ETF Evaluator:
Vanguard ESG US Corporate Bond ETF ()
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(as of Aug 26)
Best Performing in Corporate Bond Over the Last Year
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| 3.6% | Hilton BDC Corporate Bond ETF (HBDC) |
| 3.5% | iShares Invm Grd Crp Bd Buywrt Stgy ETF (LQDW) |
| 3.3% | State Street SPDR Port ItmtTermCorpBdETF (SPIB) |
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ETF Details
Vanguard ESG US Corporate Bond ETF Overview
Vanguard ESG US Corporate Bond ETF (VCEB) is a passively managed Taxable Bond Corporate Bond exchange-traded fund (ETF). Vanguard launched the ETF in 2020.
The investment seeks to track the performance of the Bloomberg MSCI U.S. Corporate SRI Select Index (the “index”).
The index excludes bonds with maturities of less than 1 year and with less than $750 million outstanding, and is screened for certain environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria by the index provider, which is independent of Vanguard. All of the fund’s investments will be selected through the sampling process, and under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the fund’s assets will be invested in bonds included in the index.
About Vanguard ESG US Corporate Bond ETF (VCEB)
There are 2 members of the management team with an average tenure of 3.48 years: Joshua Barrickman (2020) and Jake Riley (2025). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.
The ETF has 2 primary benchmarks: Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Bloomberg MSCI US Corp SRI Select USD index with a weighting of 100%. Vanguard ESG US Corporate Bond ETF has 2743 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 1.8% of the ETF’s assets. The ETF meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The ETF is considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
Vanguard ESG US Corporate Bond ETF is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond ETF group. Vanguard ESG US Corporate Bond ETF has 16.0% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 0.0% There is 0.0% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 99.4% (83.5% domestic bond, 16.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Vanguard ESG US Corporate Bond ETF has 0.6% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $1 billion in total assets, which is below the $3 billion average for the Corporate Bond category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.
VCEB Performance and Fees
The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The Vanguard ESG US Corporate Bond ETF expense ratio is low compared to funds in the Corporate Bond category. Vanguard ESG US Corporate Bond ETF has an expense ratio of 0.12%, which is 51% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a A. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.
High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. Vanguard ESG US Corporate Bond ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 33%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 58% for the Corporate Bond category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, Vanguard ESG US Corporate Bond ETF returned -1.7%, which earned it a grade of D, as the Corporate Bond category had an average return of -1.4%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all ETFs in that category.
Vanguard ESG US Corporate Bond ETF has a trailing yield of 4.74%, which is below the 5.07% category average.
The fund normally distributes its income monthly.
It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.
Vanguard ESG US Corporate Bond ETF Grades
Year to date, the ETF has returned -1.0%, 0.4 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of F. The fund has returned 2.0% over the past year (grade of F), 4.4% over the past three years (grade of F) and -0.3% per year over the past five years (grade of D).
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VCEB Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 7/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| VCEB Return (NAV) | -1.7% | -0.9% | 2.0% | 4.4% | -0.3% | na |
| VCEB Return (Price) | -1.5% | -0.7% | 2.2% | 4.4% | -0.2% | na |
| NAV +/- Price Return | -0.239% | -0.130% | -0.178% | -0.028% | -0.032% | na |
| Corporate Bond Avg | -1.4% | -0.6% | 2.6% | 4.8% | 0.1% | 2.3% |
| VCEB Grade (NAV) | D | D | F | F | D | na |
| +/- Category (NAV) | -0.3% | -0.2% | -0.6% | -0.4% | -0.4% | na |
| VCEB Tax-Cost Ratio | na | na | 1.9% | 1.8% | 1.5% | na |
VCEB Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| VCEB Return (NAV) | -1.0% | 7.5% | 2.2% | 8.5% | -15.3% | -1.6% | na | na | na | na | na |
| VCEB Return (Price) | -0.9% | 7.5% | 2.2% | 8.5% | -15.2% | -2.0% | na | na | na | na | na |
| NAV +/- Price Ret | -0.083% | -0.004% | 0.021% | 0.004% | -0.008% | 0.269% | na | na | na | na | na |
| Corporate Bond Avg | -0.6% | 7.8% | 2.8% | 8.3% | -14.8% | -0.9% | 9.6% | 13.5% | -2.0% | 5.2% | 5.0% |
| VCEB Grade (NAV) | F | D | D | C | C | D | na | na | na | na | na |
| +/- Category | -0.4% | -0.3% | -0.7% | 0.2% | -0.5% | -0.7% | na | na | na | na | na |
| Risk Measures | |
| Beta: | 1.07 |
| R-Squared: | 96% |
| Standard Deviation: | 6.1% |
| Category Risk Index: | 1.04 |
| Category Risk Rating: | Average |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.50 |
| Total Risk Rating: | Low |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Yield: | 4.7% |
| Total Assets: | $ 1,148 Mil |
| Share Class Assets: | $ 1,148 Mil |
| Turnover: | 33.0% |
| Expense Ratio: | 0.12% |
| Index Fund: | Yes |
| Index Tracked: | Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD |
| Index Weighting: | 100% |
| Leveraged: | No |
| Socially Responsible Fund: | Yes |
| Capital Gains Distribution Frequency: | |
| Income Distribution Frequency: | Monthly |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 2 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 5.9 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 3.5 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Barrickman Joshua (2020), Riley Jake (2025) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 6/30/26)
| # of Holdings: | 2743 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 1.8% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 16.0% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 83.5% |
| Foreign Bond: | 16.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 0.6% |
Purchase Information
| Legal Structure: | Open Ended Investment Company |
| Fund Family: | Vanguard |
| Phone Number: | 866-499-8473 |
| Website: | www.vanguard.com |
| Inception Date: | September 22, 2020 |
Expenses and Fees
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.12% (Rating: Low) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.25% |
