Vanguard To Reverse Split Its S&P 500 ETF

Vanguard, the third-largest U.S. ETF sponsor, said it will reverse split the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF VOO on a one-for-two basis. VOO will begin trading on a split adjusted basis on October 24, 2013, said Vanguard in a statement.

Vanguard expects the split to lower the overall transaction costs to buy and sell VOO shares, according to the statement. With an expense ratio of just 0.05 percent per year, VOO is already cheaper than 95 percent of rival funds.

Those rivals include the SPDR S&P 500 SPY, the largest ETF in the world by assets, and the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF IVV.

Vanguard S&P 500 ETF has net assets of more than $10 billion and the Pennsylvania-based company offers 67 stock and bond ETFs with total assets of nearly $290 billion, according to the statement.

Other popular Vanguard ETFs include the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF VIG, the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF VTI and the Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF VWO.

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