The Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS) has seen its fair share of volatility in 2022.
At the time of writing, the exchange-traded fund (ETF) has fallen by around 15% since the beginning of the year.
Inflation and higher interest rates are seemingly the cause of the difficulties that the share markets are facing.
As The Motley Fool's Bruce Jackson recently commented about the situation:
At this stage, it's a guessing game, both as to what the inflation number might be and how the stock market might react.
What should investors do now?
Keep buying stocks. Keep regularly putting money to work, ideally each month, like clockwork. Invest more money into your favourite holdings, and/or into a broad-based ETF, like my favourite, the Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF.
There's a great Warren Buffett quote for times like this. "Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful."
In other words, it's good to invest when uncertainty is high and share prices are low. But be careful when market sentiment is strong and share prices are high.
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Is this a good time to buy the Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF?
I believe that businesses, collectively, will become worth more over time as they grow profitability, launch new products and services, expand geographically and so on.
I wouldn't expect this Vanguard ETF to fall as much as others, such as the tech-focused Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ). The NDQ ETF has dropped around 25% in 2022. The Vanguard ETF is made up of a portfolio of businesses from a range of different industries.
While technology businesses are seeing valuation difficulties, others such as energy and financials are holding up quite well. That's because they can benefit from higher energy prices and higher interest rates.
I think that it is a good time to invest in Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF.
In my opinion, this ETF has a globally diversified portfolio, it's managed for a low cost of 0.18% per annum, with businesses that have attractive long-term potential. For example, I am optimistic about a number of the ETF's top holdings including Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon.com and Nvidia.
There are a total of 1,470 positions in the portfolio, so it has a very good amount of underlying diversification in my view.
I believe that some of its financial metrics are impressive, including a return on equity (ROE) ratio of 18.3% and an earnings growth rate of 16.8%, according to Vanguard.
Foolish takeaway
I think the current volatility has made it the right time to invest in this ETF, for the long term. I'd prefer to buy shares of quality businesses at a lower price, with which we're currently being presented.
