Vanguard to Put Out Small Cap Intl. Index
A Vanguard news release said the Vanguard FTSE
All-World ex-US Small-Cap Index Fund will offer three
share classes (Investor, Institutional, and ETF) and is
expected to be available in the first quarter of 2009.
The target benchmark for the fund is the FTSE Global
Small Cap ex US Index, a market-capitalization-weighted
index of stocks traded on markets outside the United
States, the investment firm said. The fund will invest in
a broadly diversified sampling of securities from the
benchmark, which comprises more than 3,300 stocks of
companies in 47 countries.
The fund’s ETF Shares have an estimated expense ratio
of 0.38%. The Investor Shares, which will require a
$3,000 minimum initial investment, have an estimated
expense ratio of 0.60%, while the Institutional Shares
have an estimated expense ratio of 0.35% and a $5 million
minimum initial investment requirement.
To help defray the transaction costs associated with investing in small-cap international stocks, the fund will assess a 0.75% fee on purchases and redemptions of the Investor and Institutional Shares, Vanguard said.