Skip to content

BSV vs. VOE: What’s The Difference?

The Vanguard Short-Term Bond Index Fund ETF Shares (BSV) and the Vanguard Mid-Cap Value Index Fund ETF Shares (VOE) are both among the Top 100 ETFs. BSV is a Vanguard Short-Term Bond fund and VOE is a Vanguard Mid-Cap Value fund. So, what’s the difference between BSV and VOE? And which fund is better?

The expense ratio of BSV is 0.02 percentage points lower than VOE’s (0.05% vs. 0.07%). BSV is mostly comprised of AAA bonds while VOE has a high exposure to the financial services sector. Overall, BSV has provided lower returns than VOE over the past ten years.

In this article, we’ll compare BSV vs. VOE. We’ll look at portfolio growth and performance, as well as at their annual returns and industry exposure. Moreover, I’ll also discuss BSV’s and VOE’s risk metrics, holdings, and fund composition and examine how these affect their overall returns.

Summary

BSVVOE
NameVanguard Short-Term Bond Index Fund ETF SharesVanguard Mid-Cap Value Index Fund ETF Shares
CategoryShort-Term BondMid-Cap Value
IssuerVanguardVanguard
AUM67.71B26.78B
Avg. Return2.27%12.52%
Div. Yield1.48%1.87%
Expense Ratio0.05%0.07%

The Vanguard Short-Term Bond Index Fund ETF Shares (BSV) is a Short-Term Bond fund that is issued by Vanguard. It currently has 67.71B total assets under management and has yielded an average annual return of 2.27% over the past 10 years. The fund has a dividend yield of 1.48% with an expense ratio of 0.05%.

The Vanguard Mid-Cap Value Index Fund ETF Shares (VOE) is a Mid-Cap Value fund that is issued by Vanguard. It currently has 26.78B total assets under management and has yielded an average annual return of 12.52% over the past 10 years. The fund has a dividend yield of 1.87% with an expense ratio of 0.07%.

BSV’s dividend yield is 0.39% lower than that of VOE (1.48% vs. 1.87%). Also, BSV yielded on average 10.25% less per year over the past decade (2.27% vs. 12.52%). The expense ratio of BSV is 0.02 percentage points lower than VOE’s (0.05% vs. 0.07%).

Fund Composition

Holdings

BSV - Holdings

BSV Bond SectorsWeight
AAA71.65%
BBB13.08%
A11.95%
AA3.28%
Others0.03%
Below B0.01%
B0.0%
BB0.0%
US Government0.0%

BSV’s Top Bond Sectors are ratings of AAA, BBB, A, AA, and Others at 71.65%, 13.08%, 11.95%, 3.28%, and 0.03%. The fund is less weighted towards Below B (0.01%), B (0.0%), and BB (0.0%) rated bonds.

VOE - Holdings

VOE HoldingsWeight
Carrier Global Corp Ordinary Shares1.28%
International Flavors & Fragrances Inc1.13%
Motorola Solutions Inc1.12%
Discover Financial Services1.09%
Welltower Inc1.05%
Corteva Inc0.99%
Valero Energy Corp0.97%
Corning Inc0.95%
Willis Towers Watson PLC0.9%
D.R. Horton Inc0.89%

VOE’s Top Holdings are Carrier Global Corp Ordinary Shares, International Flavors & Fragrances Inc, Motorola Solutions Inc, Discover Financial Services, and Welltower Inc at 1.28%, 1.13%, 1.12%, 1.09%, and 1.05%.

Corteva Inc (0.99%), Valero Energy Corp (0.97%), and Corning Inc (0.95%) have a slightly smaller but still significant weight. Willis Towers Watson PLC and D.R. Horton Inc are also represented in the VOE’s holdings at 0.9% and 0.89%.

Risk Analysis

BSVVOE
Mean Return0.161.05
R-squared78.3888.76
Std. Deviation1.3315.98
Alpha0.21-3.77
Beta0.381.11
Sharpe Ratio0.980.75
Treynor Ratio3.3310.19

The Vanguard Short-Term Bond Index Fund ETF Shares (BSV) has a Standard Deviation of 1.33 with a Treynor Ratio of 3.33 and a Sharpe Ratio of 0.98. Its Beta is 0.38 while BSV’s Alpha is 0.21. Furthermore, the fund has a Mean Return of 0.16 and a R-squared of 78.38.

The Vanguard Mid-Cap Value Index Fund ETF Shares (VOE) has a Alpha of -3.77 with a Treynor Ratio of 10.19 and a R-squared of 88.76. Its Beta is 1.11 while VOE’s Sharpe Ratio is 0.75. Furthermore, the fund has a Mean Return of 1.05 and a Standard Deviation of 15.98.

BSV’s Mean Return is 0.89 points lower than that of VOE and its R-squared is 10.38 points lower. With a Standard Deviation of 1.33, BSV is slightly less volatile than VOE. The Alpha and Beta of BSV are 3.98 points higher and 0.73 points lower than VOE’s Alpha and Beta.

Performance

Annual Returns

BSV vs. VOE - Annual Returns

YearBSVVOE
20204.67%2.5%
20194.92%27.98%
20181.34%-12.41%
20171.2%17.05%
20161.42%15.26%
20150.92%-1.8%
20141.32%13.98%
20130.17%37.65%
20121.98%16.04%
20113.04%-0.32%
20104.0%21.83%

BSV had its best year in 2019 with an annual return of 4.92%. BSV’s worst year over the past decade yielded 0.17% and occurred in 2013. In most years the Vanguard Short-Term Bond Index Fund ETF Shares provided moderate returns such as in 2018, 2016, and 2012 where annual returns amounted to 1.34%, 1.42%, and 1.98% respectively.

The year 2013 was the strongest year for VOE, returning 37.65% on an annual basis. The poorest year for VOE in the last ten years was 2018, with a yield of -12.41%. Most years the Vanguard Mid-Cap Value Index Fund ETF Shares has given investors modest returns, such as in 2014, 2016, and 2012, when gains were 13.98%, 15.26%, and 16.04% respectively.

Portfolio Growth

BSV vs. VOE - Portfolio Growth

FundInitial BalanceFinal BalanceCAGR
BSV$10,000$12,7852.27%
VOE$10,000$33,65512.52%

A $10,000 investment in BSV would have resulted in a final balance of $12,785. This is a profit of $2,785 over 11 years and amounts to a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.27%.

With a $10,000 investment in VOE, the end total would have been $33,655. This equates to a $23,655 profit over 11 years and a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.52%.

BSV’s CAGR is 10.25 percentage points lower than that of VOE and as a result, would have yielded $20,870 less on a $10,000 investment. Thus, BSV performed worse than VOE by 10.25% annually.


Current recommendations:

Over the past years, I have discovered several tools and products that have helped me tremendously on my path to financial freedom:

P.S.: The links below are affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you when you sign up for one of the services. Thank you for your support!

1)Personal Capital is simply the best tool out there to track your net worth and plan for financial freedom. Just their retirement planner alone has become an invaluable tool to keep myself on track financially. Try it out, it's free!

2) Take a look at M1 Finance, my favorite broker. I love how easy it is to invest and maintain my portfolio with them. I can set up automatic transfers, rebalance my portfolio with one click and even borrow up to 35% of my assets at super low interest rates!

3) Fundrise is by far the best way I've found to invest in Real Estate. You can diversify your portfolio by investing in their eREITs or even allocate capital to individual properties (without the hassle of managing tenants!).

4) Groundfloor is another great way to get exposure to the real estate sector by investing in short-term, high-yield real estate debt. Current returns are >10% and you can get started with just $10.

5) If you are interested in startup investing, check out Mainvest. I've started allocating a small amount of assets to invest in and support small businesses. Return targets are between 10-25% and you can start with just $100!

To see all of my most up-to-date recommendations, check out the Recommended Tools section.

Marvin Allen

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *