Vanguard Total International Stock ETF

VXUS

Market cap $107B

Exchange-traded fund (ETF) investing removes the guesswork from portfolio construction. Rather than researching dozens of companies and hoping your picks outperform, ETFs deliver instant diversification across hundreds or thousands of stocks with a single purchase.

The United States is the world's most innovative and best-performing economy from an investment standpoint. America's stock market is worth approximately $62 trillion, several times that of the second-closest country.

Beacon Financial Strategies increased its position in Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS -2.33%) by 21,624 shares. The trade was worth around $2.04 million, based on average pricing for Q3 2025.

The Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF (VXUS 0.73%) has surged 27% year-to-date through Oct. 3, 2025, its best performance in years after averaging just 5.8% annually since 2011. The rally prompts a simple question -- is there still value in this exchange-traded fund (ETF) after such a strong run?

The Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund offers broad, low-cost international equity exposure with a mere 0.05% annual fee. The fund provides strongly diversified exposure across both sector and geography. Recent outperformance of international markets and a weaker U.S. dollar make this a good time to consider international ETFs.

I'll never stop shouting from the mountain tops about how effective exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are for the average investor. They remove a lot of the thought process that comes with choosing individual stocks, and they often provide instant diversification.

The best ETFs to diversify for volatility and falling interest rates include high-quality large caps, small-cap growth, international equities, and gold. The macro environment points to mild stagflation, but there's no recession in sight, allowing investors to balance caution with optimism in a resilient market, despite some economic weakness. Although the first few months following the Fed's initial rate cut have historically been volatile, equities tend to push higher over the next six to 12 months.

One of the bigger investing myths is that it's complicated and time-consuming. This couldn't be further from the truth, especially when you're investing in exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Investing can sometimes be viewed as complicated because some people think being a good investor involves tons of research or time. In actuality, being a successful investor can be as simple as investing in exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Investing with a long-term strategy has proven to be a great way to build serious wealth over time without taking on a bunch of risk or headaches along the way. Some key elements of this strategy involve simplifying things when you can and diversifying your investments across different markets and industries.