Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS) is trading for $155.03, up 0.04% on Tuesday.
By market cap, VGS is the most popular exchange-traded fund (ETF) for diversified international shares on the ASX.
Vanguard says VGS received more cash inflows over the first three quarters of 2025 than any of its other ETFs tracking overseas indices.
The ASX ETF invests in a broad array of international shares with a 74% skew to the US market. The next biggest geographic exposures are Japan (5.5%), Canada (3.3%), United Kingdom (3.3%), France (2.5%), Germany (2.4%), and Switzerland (2.3%).
VGS ETF is a passive index-tracking ETF that seeks to mirror the annual returns of the MSCI World ex-Australia (with net dividends reinvested) in Australian dollars Index.
It currently holds 1,281 shares, with 81% being large-cap stocks in developed nations.
The top 10 holdings include the global names you would expect: Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta Platforms, semiconductor and infrastructure software company Broadcom, Alphabet Class A and C, Tesla, and America's biggest bank, JPMorgan Chase & Co.
The extraordinary run in US shares over the past three years has turbocharged the VGS ETF.
During this time period, the benchmark S&P 500 Index (SP: .INX) has skyrocketed by 82%.
Let's take a look at what that has done for investors in the VGS ETF.
VGS ETF returns over 3 years
Let's say you invested $10,000 into ASX VGS three years ago.
On 4 November 2022, VGS closed at $92.94 apiece.
If you had put $10,000 into the VGS ETF then, it would have bought you 107 units (for $9,944.58).
There's been a capital gain of $62.09 per unit since then, which equates to $6,643.63 in dollar terms.
During this time, the VGS ETF also paid distributions (that's a fancy word for dividends) four times per year.
Since 4 November 2022, VGS has paid 1,017.5 cents per unit in distributions, or $10.18 per unit in rounded dollar terms.
This means you would have received $1,088.73 worth of income over the three-year period.
It's worth noting that the VGS ETF runs a handy distribution reinvestment plan (DRP).
This provides the option of automatically reinvesting distributions for compounded returns in the future.
Grand total…
Your capital gain of $6,643.63 plus your distributions of $1,088.73 gives you a total return in dollar terms of $7,732.36.
You invested $9,944.58 buying your 107 units of VGS ETF on 4 November 2022.
This means you have received a total return, in percentage terms, of 78% in just three years.
Today, your VGS units are worth $16,588.20 (with $1,088.73 in distributions in your pocket).
