It’s been three decades since Vanguard gave investors easy, low-cost index funds to tilt their portfolios toward growth or value stocks in the U.S. In March 2026, investors will finally get the same choice overseas.
Vanguard filed today to launch two new ETFs: Developed Markets ex-U.S. Growth Index ETF and Developed Markets ex-U.S. Value Index ETF. Both funds will track Standard & Poor’s (S&P) indexes of large- and mid-sized stocks in developed foreign markets.
One odd wrinkle: This makes a departure from Vanguard’s other foreign stock index funds, like Developed Markets ETF (VEA), which track FTSE indexes. That’s not a problem—but a notable inconsistency.
To be clear, Vanguard investors haven’t been locked out of growth or value tilts overseas. For decades, they’ve had access to actively managed options like International Growth (VWIGX) and International Value (VTRIX). What’s been missing is a clean, index-based way to make that same bet—until now.
Historically, growth and value leadership has tended to move in sync across regions. When growth stocks outperformed value stocks in the U.S., the same generally held true overseas. That relationship was remarkably consistent from 2000 through 2022.
The past three years, however, have broken the pattern.