Owns large, mid-sized and small US materials companies, such as chemical makers, miners and packaging producers, holding each in proportion to its weight in the index.
VAW, the Vanguard Materials ETF, is a $3.0 billion ETF whose main story is the reshoring trade. Over the past year it returned +8.7%, against +16.8% for broad US ETFs. Figures to October 2, 2026; past performance, not a recommendation.
The narrative it carries
This is its only narrative.
The reshoring trade →
Infrastructure, critical metals and materials: what it takes to make more things at home.
The band is where this narrative’s level sits among the 22 this week. QUIET means less talked about, not falling.
| # | ETF | SHARE | ASSETS | 1 YEAR | COST |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PAVE | 18.5% | $13.36bn | +13.5% | 0.47% |
| 2 | IGF | 14.0% | $10.07bn | +3.9% | 0.37% |
| 3 | XLB | 10.8% | $7.78bn | +10.9% | 0.08% |
| 4 | COPX | 10.1% | $7.25bn | +45.1% | 0.65% |
| 5 | XME | 5.7% | $4.09bn | +9.7% | 0.35% |
| 82 other ETFs | 40.9% |
Share is each ETF’s slice of the capital carrying this narrative. 1 year is market price total return; cost is the expense ratio. See all 87 ETFs on the narrative page →
FRI OCT 2MARKET PRICE TOTAL RETURN
| 1M | 3M | YTD | 1Y | 3Y* | 5Y* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VAW | −7.0% | −5.2% | +7.0% | +8.7% | +10.6% | +6.3% |
| The reshoring tradeits narrative | −4.9% | −3.8% | +9.5% | +14.5% | +20.1% | +12.7% |
| The marketbroad US ETFs | +0.8% | +2.6% | +14.6% | +16.8% | +22.9% | +12.9% |
1M, 3M, 1Y, 3Y, 5Y: one month to five years. YTD: year to date. * A year, annualised. A dash means the ETF has not traded for the whole period. Since it started trading on January 30, 2004: +8.8% a year.
$10,000 invested October 31, 2016
Year by year
Total return in each calendar year; this year is year to date. A year appears only if VAW traded for all of it.
Total return on the market price, with each distribution reinvested on its ex-date. Not the NAV return the issuer publishes; the two differ when the ETF trades above or below the value of its holdings. The narrative is the asset-weighted return of the unlevered ETFs that carry it. The market is the asset-weighted return of broad US index ETFs. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
FRI OCT 2MARKET PRICE TOTAL RETURN
How closely it moves
VAW moves partly with the market. When the market has moved 1%, VAW has tended to move 0.82%.
VAW moves closely with the reshoring trade. When the reshoring trade has moved 1%, VAW has tended to move 0.97%.
Weekly returns over 157 weeks. The narrative is measured without VAW in it, so it is not compared with itself.
ETFs it moves most and least like
Correlation of weekly returns over the last 3 years, among unlevered ETFs StoryVector covers.
Where it sits in The reshoring trade
Each dot is one of 42 unlevered ETFs whose main narrative is the reshoring trade, placed by its return (up) and how much it swung (right) over the last year.
Risk
Cost against its peers
VAW is the 3rd cheapest of 41 ETFs in the reshoring trade. The dashed line is the middle of the group, 0.53% a year.
How it is built
An unlevered long ETF that owns its holdings directly. It counts toward Share of Narrative.
Narrative exposure
Common questions
What story is VAW selling?
VAW’s main story is the reshoring trade, which covers infrastructure, critical metals and materials: what it takes to make more things at home.
Which ETFs compete with VAW?
The ETFs whose weekly returns move most like VAW’s over the past 3 years are FMAT (1.00), XLB (0.99) and IYM (0.97).
How has VAW performed against its story?
Over the past year VAW returned +8.7%, the ETFs carrying the reshoring trade +14.5% and broad US ETFs +16.8%, to October 2, 2026. Its weekly returns have a correlation of 0.94 with the story. Past performance only.
Run an ETF in the reshoring trade? StoryVector shows issuers where their ETFs stand against the closest rivals, every week.
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