How different is the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (VAS) now compared to a year ago?

The Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS) is a rather special exchange-traded fund (ETF) on the ASX. For one, it's the only ASX ETF that tracks the S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX :XKO) rather than the more popular S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

But more importantly, the Vanguard Australian Shares ETF is, by a mile, the ASX's most popular ETF by funds under management.

So given the importance of this fund to ASX investors, it's a good opportunity to examine how its underlying portfolio has changed over the past 12 months.

How has the Vanguard Australian Shares ETF portfolio changed over the past year?

Vanguard hasn't yet updated its holdings beyond 30 November 2022. So we'll use that as a benchmark.

12 months ago (as of 30 November 2021), this ETF had the following 10 ASX 300 shares as its top holdings:

1. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) with a fund weighting of 7.47%
2. CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) with a weighting of 6.56%
3. BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) with a weighting of 5.45%
4. National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) with a weighting of 4.23%
5. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) with a weighting of 3.57%
6. Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) with a weighting of 3.54%
7. Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) with a weighting of 3.27%
8. Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) with a weighting of 3.03%
9. Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) with a weighting of 2.32%
10. Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) with a weighting of 2.27%

Let's compare those to how the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF's holdings looked as of 30 November 2022:

1. BHP Group Ltd with a weighting of 10.37%
2. Commonwealth Bank of Australia with a fund weighting of 8.29%
3. CSL Limited with a weighting of 6.51%
4. National Australia Bank Ltd with a weighting of 4.51%
5. Westpac Banking Corp with a weighting of 3.75%
6. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd with a weighting of 3.33%
7. Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) with a weighting of 3.18%
8. Macquarie Group Ltd with a weighting of 2.92%
9. Wesfarmers Ltd with a weighting of 2.48%
10. Telstra Group Ltd with a weighting of 2.07%

So you can see that, while some of the players have been shuffled, the Vanguard Australian Shares ETF song largely remains the same.

What are some of the changes?

Perhaps the largest change over these 12 months is the entry of Woodside Energy Group, displacing ASX 300 blue chip stalwart Woolworths from the top ten shares. This reflects the merger between the old Woodside Petroleum and BHP's oil division that was finalised in the middle of last year.

This resulted in Woodside becoming a much larger company and thus getting a boost in representation in this ASX ETF.

Speaking of BHP, you'll also notice that the Big Australian shot up from the third-largest holding 12 months ago to the top spot it presently occupies. This is the result of BHP's 'unification' program implemented at the start of 2022.

BHP rehomed its London-listed shares back to the ASX, also resulting in an almost-doubled presence on the local market.

But otherwise, the major holdings in the Vanguard Australian Shares ETF are fairly similar to where they were 12 months ago. But who knows what 2023 will bring for investors in the ASX's most popular ETF?