Key Highlights

  • The fund holds 1,297 companies from developed markets outside Australia.
  • The United States represents 73.61% of the portfolio, with Japan at 5.85% and Canada at 3.53%.
  • The management fee is 0.18% and the fund size is $18.83 billion.
  • The October 2026 distribution of $0.287 is lower than the $0.369 paid a year earlier.

Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX:VGS) gains its exposure by investing in the Vanguard International Shares Index Fund, which tracks the MSCI World ex Australia Index. The ETF was admitted to the ASX on 20 November 2014 and last traded at $164.36 on 13 October 2026. It reports a fund size of $18.83 billion.

Detail

Information

Ticker

ASX:VGS

Fund

Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF

Category

Equity World Large Blend

Benchmark

MSCI World Ex Australia NR AUD

Fund size

$18.83 billion

Management fee

0.18%

Total holdings

1,297

ASX admission date

20 November 2014

Geographic spread

The United States dominates the portfolio at 73.61%. Japan follows at 5.85%, then Canada at 3.53%, the United Kingdom at 3.43%, Switzerland at 2.60%, Germany at 2.20%, France at 1.93% and the Netherlands at 1.47%. Spain and Sweden each hold less than 1%.

The fund's structure means it holds exposure to most securities in the index, with individual weightings allowed to vary marginally.

Holdings and sectors

The ten largest holdings account for 26.72% of the fund, a lower concentration than many single-country funds. NVIDIA leads at 5.54%, followed by Apple (5.08%), Microsoft (3.91%), Amazon.com (2.74%) and Alphabet Class A (2.20%). Broadcom, Alphabet Class C, Meta Platforms, Micron Technology and Tesla complete the list.

Technology holds 31.53% and Financial Services 15.85%, with Industrials at 10.86% and Healthcare at 9.35%. The reported turnover ratio is 1.38%.

Fees and distribution

The management fee is 0.18%. The interim distribution of $0.287 per unit has an ex-date of 1 October 2026, a record date of 2 October and payment on 16 October, equal to an annual yield of 1.19%.

That amount is lower than each of the preceding quarterly payments of $0.815 in July 2026, $0.394 in April and $0.473 in January, and lower than the $0.369 paid in October 2025.

Category classification and liquidity

Morningstar places the fund in the Equity World Large Blend category, which covers funds investing primarily in large companies listed around the globe, with the portfolio not defined by a single sector or region and the blend style applied where neither growth nor value characteristics predominate.

Liquidity indicators add a further view. There are 114,340,782 units on issue, and average daily trading volume is 217,681 units. Over the five sessions from 7 to 13 October 2026, daily volume ranged from 146,400 to 232,400 units, with 232,490 recorded on 13 October while the market was still open. The bid-offer range stood at $164.36 to $164.38, and the day range at $164.18 to $164.80. These figures change through the trading day and reflect market activity rather than the fund's holdings.

Recent announcements

Vanguard published Outstanding Securities for September 2026 on 7 October, a Distribution Tax Estimate on 5 October, and DRP and Final Distributions notices on 2 October.

Closing Perspective

VGS offers broad developed-market coverage with a high US weighting and a low top-ten concentration. The fee is 0.18%, and the October distribution of $0.287 was below both the July and prior-year October payments. These facts describe the fund rather than anticipate its path.