Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) can be very effective ways to get access to some of the world's biggest and best businesses. The Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS) could be one of the cheapest ways to do it, with an annual management fee of just 0.18%.
It's pretty easy to buy shares on the ASX that we use in our day-to-day lives like Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS), Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) or Transurban Group (ASX: TCL).
However, it's not so simple to buy shares of global names directly because they are not listed on the ASX.
It's still possible to buy shares in them directly, but it could come with more paperwork. An ETF may be the easiest way to gain access to them.
But what shares does the VGS ETF actually own?
Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF holdings
At 31 July 2022, it had 1,474 positions. That's a lot of businesses, giving great diversification.
But, some of them have a much larger allocation in the portfolio than others.
These are the biggest 10 positions at the end of July 2022 in the VGS ETF:
Apple Inc makes the iPhone, Mac computer and many other well-known tech products and services.
Microsoft Corporation is another technology giant that offers various products and services like Windows, Microsoft 365 products, Xbox and Azure.
Alphabet Inc is the holding company for many services, including YouTube, Google Search, Google Maps and Android.
Amazon.com Inc is a huge e-commerce giant that also has other services like Twitch, Prime Video and AWS.
Tesla Inc is a leading electric vehicle and battery business that is diversifying into other areas.
UnitedHealth Group is a healthcare and insurance business.
Johnson & Johnson is a global healthcare product and pharmaceutical business.
NVIDIA Corporation designs graphics processing units (GPUs) and it's involved in a number of other tech services. It's also involved in the hardware and software for AI.
Exxon Mobil Corp is one of the world's largest oil businesses.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc is an American-focused conglomerate led by Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger.
Investors may have heard of some, or all, of these businesses. They are the biggest positions in the VGS ETF portfolio, so they will have the largest influence on the returns.
For example, if Apple were 10% of the portfolio and it went up 20% in one month, that would be a 2% boost for the ETF. If a smaller company comprised 1% of the portfolio and it went up 100%, it would only add 1% of a total return.
VGS ETF share price snapshot
In the past month, the Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF has fallen by around 4%.
