The Smartest ETF to Buy With $500 Today Is the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV) -- No Matter Where the Market Goes Next
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By Selena Maranjian – Dec 14, 2025 at 10:30AM ESTKey PointsVanguard Value offers an alternative to growth-heavy index funds.It also pays a respectable dividend yield.These 10 Stocks Could Mint the Next Wave of Millionaires ›NYSEMKT: VTVVanguard Index Funds - Vanguard Value ETFMarket Cap$0.0KToday's Changeangle-down(-0.33%) $0.64Current Price$192.50Price as of December 12, 2025 at 4:00 PM ETThis ETF offers a nice balance of growth and dividend income.If you've got $500 burning a hole in your pocket and you're looking to invest it for many years in some promising stocks, consider the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV 0.33%). It's an index fund focused on value stocks, and if you're worried about a possible market correction or economic recession, it could be a great prospect for you. Here's a closer look at the exchange-traded fund (ETF), how it invests its shareholder dollars, and its top holdings. (Remember that an ETF is a fund that trades like a stock, making it easy to get in and out of.) Image source: Getty Images. Meet the Vanguard Value ETF The Vanguard Value ETF tracks the CRSP U.S.
Large Cap Value Index, which measures the performance of large-capitalization value stocks. It determines which ones qualify as value stocks by assessing the following factors: price-to-book ratios, forward-looking price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios, historical price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios, price-to-dividend ratios, and price-to-sales ratios. ExpandNYSEMKT: VTVVanguard Index Funds - Vanguard Value ETFToday's Change(-0.33%) $-0.64Current Price$192.50Key Data PointsDay's Range$192.04 - $193.7852wk Range$150.43 - $193.78Volume5.1M Vanguard is known for low fees, among other things, and this ETF is no exception, sporting a tiny expense ratio (annual fee) of just 0.04%. So for every $10,000 you have invested in it, you'll pay only $4 per year in fees. The table shows how the ETF has performed lately. I'm including the performance of the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO 1.08%) as well for comparison.Advertisement Fund Five-Year Avg. Annual Return 10-Year Avg. Annual Return 15-Year Avg.
Annual Return Vanguard Value ETF 12.40% 11.55% 11.77% Vanguard S&P 500 ETF 14.91% 14.76% 14.17% Data source: Morningstar.com, as of Dec. 9, 2025. It's true that the S&P 500 (^GSPC 1.07%) ETF has outperformed the value ETF, but that's because it includes many growth stocks -- which can fall harder during market pullbacks than value stocks likely will. Consider, too, that a standard S&P 500 fund will have roughly 40% of its total value in just its top 10 holdings -- out of 500 holdings. By the way, those top 10 will include companies such as Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon. Nvidia alone recently made up about 8.5% of the value of the S&P 500 index. What's in the Vanguard Value ETF? So what, then, is in the Vanguard Value ETF? Here are the ETF's recent top holdings: Stock Percent of ETF JPMorgan Chase 3.60% Berkshire Hathaway, Class B 3.22% ExxonMobil 2.12% Johnson & Johnson 1.98% Walmart 1.93% AbbVie 1.68% Home Depot 1.64% Procter & Gamble 1.53% Bank of America 1.39% UnitedHealth Group 1.35% Data source: Vanguard.com. As of Oct. 31, 2025. Notably, these top 10 holdings make up only about 20% of the value ETF, so it's far less concentrated. A final plus for the Vanguard Value ETF is that it sports a meaningful dividend yield, recently 2.1%. That's a lot more than the S&P 500 recently yielded, which was 1.1%. So if you're looking for a promising investment for your $500 -- or whatever sum you want to invest -- consider this Vanguard ETF. It offers a nice balance of growth and income.About the AuthorSelena Maranjian is a contributing personal finance and investing expert at The Motley Fool. Selena has produced The Motley Fool’s nationally syndicated newspaper feature since 1997. She is the author of The Motley Fool Money Guide and Investment Clubs: How to Start and Run One the Motley Fool Way, and the co-author of The Motley Fool Investment Guide for Teens and several editions of The Motley Fool Investment Tax Guide. Prior to The Motley Fool, she worked as a high school teacher and public opinion analyst. She holds a master’s degree in teaching from Brown University and a master’s degree in finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.TMFSelenaRead NextNov 28, 2025 •By George Budwell, PhDIf I Could Only Buy 1 Vanguard ETF Right Now, This Would Be ItOct 28, 2025 •By Jeff SantoroVTI Offers Broader Market Exposure Than VTVSep 18, 2025 •By Stefon WaltersIs Vanguard Value Index the Right ETF for Today's Market Environment?Sep 18, 2025 •By Reuben Gregg BrewerIs Vanguard Value ETF Poised for Gains in 2025?Sep 17, 2025 •By Reuben Gregg BrewerThe Smartest Value ETF to Buy With $500 Right NowSep 8, 2025 •By Patrick SandersIs VTV a Smart Buy for Long-Term Investors?