Was the Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS) worth owning in April? Good question.
April was a fairly solid month for ASX shares. Over the month just passed, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) rose by 1.8%. But the VGS ETF isn't an ASX index fund. Rather, it's a truly massive exchange-traded fund (ETF) that covers more than 1,500 different companies, hailing from more than 20 different advanced economies from around the world.
Those include Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland, and Israel.
But by far the most dominant market in this ETF is the United States. A whopping 69.4% of this ETF's portfolio is weighted towards US shares. That includes every share of this ETF's top 10 holdings, which are dominated by the US tech giants like Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Tesla.
Thus, it doesn't really matter what the ASX did in April when we discuss this ETF.
Let's get into it.
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How did VGS units fare on the ASX over April?
VGS units began April at a price of $98.70 each. But by the end of the month, those units were going for $101.86 each – a rise worth a healthy 3.2%. Somewhat ironically, the very next trading day (1 May) saw this fund clock a new 52-week high of $102.55:
3.2% is a solid monthly return for any investment. But the fact that the ASX 200 'only' gave investors a 1.8% gain means the VGS ETF shone especially bright in April. So yes, we can conclude that it was definitely worth owning the Vanguard MSCI International Shares ETF last month.
Vanguard International Shares ETF snapshot
The VGS ETF has a long and productive history on the ASX, being one of the most popular ETFs on the market that covers international shares. As of 30 April, this fund has returned an average of 12.78% per annum over the past three years, and 11.2% per annum over the past five.
Since its inception in late 2014, it has averaged 11.78% per annum. This ETF charges a management fee of 0.18% per annum (or $18 a year for every $10,000 invested).
