Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF Company profile
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have similar attributes to mutual fund investments. They pool investors’ money and invest in different financial securities such as equities, commodities and bonds. However, unlike a mutual fund, ETFs can be traded on stock exchange platforms like a regular stock. Since ETFs are traded on exchanges, their prices fluctuate all day and they are a more liquid investment than mutual funds. Typically, an ETF is constructed to track a particular index and sector.
A prefix of UCITS to an ETF makes it compliant with certain standards and rules. The Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities or UCITS identification mark segregates a regular ETF from an ETF that conforms to EU regulations. UCITS requires an ETF to be open-ended so investors have the flexibility to redeem their holdings.
The Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF (VUSA) was launched on 22 May 2012. This particular fund tracks the performance of the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index. The S&P Index is a capitalisation-weighted index of 500 US stocks in the major business sectors, indicative of the economy’s performance.
The VUSA fund applies a passive management investment strategy that mirrors the movements of the S&P 500. It looks to invest in all the constituent securities of the index, in the exact same proportion. For the securities where replication isn’t possible, the fund will look to make its investment through a sampling process.
As of 31 January 2022, the VUSA is invested in 509 stocks with a median market capitalisation of approximately $203.2bn (£149.1bn). IT has the highest exposure percentage of 28.7%, followed by healthcare (13.1%) and consumer discretionary (11.9%). Apple stock currently leads the securities portfolio for the Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF.
On 16 February 2022, the fund closed at £62.09, with a NAV of $84.93. As compared to a day before, with a close price of £62.63, there has been a decline of 0.86% in the fund’s price. Further back, on 1 February 2022, the fund closed at £63.41 with a NAV of $86.23. Since the start of this month, the fund’s price has plummeted by 2.08%.
The data from Capital.com showed 97% bullish and 3% bearish trader sentiment. The data was calculated automatically, based on open positions for Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF (VUSA) on the platform and should not be considered as an incentive to trade the asset.