Owns large, mid-sized and small US industrial companies, such as makers of machinery and aircraft, railroads and building contractors, holding each in proportion to its weight in the index.
VIS, the Vanguard Industrials ETF, is a $8.5 billion ETF whose main story is the defense trade. It holds 11.1% of the money in ETFs carrying that story, 3rd of 67. Over the past year it returned +11.0%, 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 defense trade →
Defense contractors, defense technology and the industrial companies around them, paid from government budgets.
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 | XLI | 38.8% | $29.83bn | +11.5% | 0.08% |
| 2 | ITA | 15.8% | $12.14bn | −0.5% | 0.37% |
| 3 | VIS | 11.1% | $8.52bn | +11.0% | 0.09% |
| 4 | PPA | 9.6% | $7.40bn | +0.1% | 0.58% |
| 5 | XAR | 7.2% | $5.54bn | −1.9% | 0.35% |
| 62 other ETFs | 17.5% |
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 67 ETFs on the narrative page →
FRI OCT 2MARKET PRICE TOTAL RETURN
| 1M | 3M | YTD | 1Y | 3Y* | 5Y* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VIS | −1.2% | −7.9% | +10.2% | +11.0% | +20.5% | +12.8% |
| The defense tradeits narrative | −3.2% | −10.2% | +4.9% | +5.2% | +24.3% | +14.7% |
| 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 September 29, 2004: +10.6% 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 VIS 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
VIS moves closely with the market. When the market has moved 1%, VIS has tended to move 0.95%.
VIS moves closely with the defense trade. When the defense trade has moved 1%, VIS has tended to move 0.89%.
Weekly returns over 157 weeks. The narrative is measured without VIS 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 defense trade
Each dot is one of 25 unlevered ETFs whose main narrative is the defense trade, placed by its return (up) and how much it swung (right) over the last year.
Risk
Cost against its peers
VIS is the 3rd cheapest of 30 ETFs in the defense trade. The dashed line is the middle of the group, 0.45% 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 VIS selling?
VIS’s main story is the defense trade, which covers defense contractors, defense technology and the industrial companies around them, paid from government budgets.
Which ETFs compete with VIS?
The ETFs whose weekly returns move most like VIS’s over the past 3 years are FIDU (1.00), XLI (0.99) and IYJ (0.97).
How much of the defense trade does VIS hold?
VIS holds 11.1% of the money in ETFs carrying that story, 3rd of 67.
How has VIS performed against its story?
Over the past year VIS returned +11.0%, the ETFs carrying the defense trade +5.2% and broad US ETFs +16.8%, to October 2, 2026. Its weekly returns have a correlation of 0.93 with the story. Past performance only.
Run an ETF in the defense trade? StoryVector shows issuers where their ETFs stand against the closest rivals, every week.
Request a pilot