ETF Evaluator: Vanguard Emerging Mkts Govt Bd ETF () Follow This ETF

Vanguard Emerging Mkts Govt Bd ETF Overview

Vanguard Emerging Mkts Govt Bd ETF (VWOB) is a passively managed Taxable Bond Emerging Markets Bond exchange-traded fund (ETF). Vanguard launched the ETF in 2013.

The investment seeks to track the performance of the Bloomberg USD Emerging Markets Government RIC Capped Index that measures the investment return of U.S. dollar-denominated bonds issued by governments and government-related issuers in emerging market countries. The manager employs an indexing investment approach designed to track the performance of index. All of the fund's investments will be selected through the sampling process, and under normal circumstances at least 80% of its net assets, plus the amount of any borrowings for investment purposes, in the bonds that make up the target index. It is non-diversified.

About Vanguard Emerging Mkts Govt Bd ETF (VWOB)

There are 1 members of the management team with an average tenure of 13.18 years: Joshua Barrickman (2013). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.

The ETF has 2 primary benchmarks: Bloomberg Gbl Agg Ex USD TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Bloomberg USD EM Gov RIC Capped TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Vanguard Emerging Mkts Govt Bd ETF has 924 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 6.1% of the ETF’s assets. The ETF meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a nondiversified fund. The ETF is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

Vanguard Emerging Mkts Govt Bd ETF is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond ETF group. Vanguard Emerging Mkts Govt Bd ETF has 99.8% 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 99.8% (0.0% domestic bond, 99.8% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Vanguard Emerging Mkts Govt Bd ETF has 0.2% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $6 billion in total assets, which is above the $1 billion average for the Emerging Markets 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.

VWOB 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 Emerging Mkts Govt Bd ETF expense ratio is low compared to funds in the Emerging Markets Bond category. Vanguard Emerging Mkts Govt Bd ETF has an expense ratio of 0.15%, which is 67% 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 Emerging Mkts Govt Bd ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 27%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 56% for the Emerging Markets Bond category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, Vanguard Emerging Mkts Govt Bd ETF returned -1.7%, which earned it a grade of F, as the Emerging Markets Bond category had an average return of -1.1%. 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 Emerging Mkts Govt Bd ETF has a trailing yield of 5.93%, which is below the 6.13% 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 Emerging Mkts Govt Bd ETF Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned 0.4%, 1.6 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of F. The fund has returned 6.5% over the past year (grade of F), 7.9% over the past three years (grade of D) and 1.7% per year over the past five years (grade of C) and 3.1% per year over the past 10 years (grade of D).

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