• Vanguard is reducing fees across our equity ETF range, lowering the cost of six equity ETFs.
  • These changes bring the total number of fee cuts that Vanguard has made across our European ETF range to 13 in 2025, following reductions on seven fixed income ETFs earlier this year.
  • We continue to see diversified equity exposure as a core component of investor portfolios, given the role of equities to help drive long-term investment growth.

The lowest-cost equity ETF range on average in Europe

Vanguard is again lowering the cost of investing. We are reducing fees across six of our equity ETFs on 7 October 2025, including for the popular Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF, Europe’s largest global equity ETF tracking the FTSE All-World Index. These fee reductions will give investors a cost-effective way to track both core and targeted regional equity exposures.

In investing, you get what you don’t pay for. Lower costs mean investors keep more of their returns. Indeed, across the industry, lower-cost funds have historically outperformed higher-cost funds on a net-of-expenses basis1.

Vanguard’s mission is to take a stand for all investors, to treat them fairly and to give them the best chance for investment success. With these fee reductions, we take our mission another step further. We expect the cuts to save investors approximately USD 18.5 million annually2. Vanguard offers the lowest-cost equity ETF range on average in Europe3.

The following ETFs will have their fees reduced on 7 October:

  Share class Previous OCF4 New OCF
Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF Unhedged 0.22% 0.19%
Vanguard FTSE North America UCITS ETF Unhedged 0.10% 0.08%
Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets UCITS ETF Unhedged 0.22% 0.17%
Vanguard ESG Emerging Markets All Cap UCITS ETF Unhedged 0.24% 0.19%
Vanguard FTSE Japan UCITS ETF Unhedged 0.15% 0.10%
Hedged 0.20% 0.15%
Vanguard Germany All Cap UCITS ETF Unhedged 0.10% 0.07%

The enduring role of equities

Vanguard remains committed to making equity investing more accessible. We continue to see equities as a critical component of long-term investor portfolios, given the growth opportunity the asset class has historically provided. Global equities, in particular, offer the broad diversification necessary to serve as a core portfolio holding.

As investors look for ways to navigate uncertain markets, global equity exposure can help to reduce the idiosyncratic risk associated with specific countries or regions. This year, many investors have embraced this approach. Through August, European-domiciled global equity ETFs have seen net inflows each month in 2025, totalling $28 billion, illustrating that increasing numbers of investors see this exposure as a key component in portfolios5.

Leading the low-cost revolution for 50 years

Since its founding in 1975, Vanguard has led the low-cost revolution in the investment management industry. Over the past decade, Vanguard has implemented more than 80 fee reductions across our European mutual fund and ETF offerings. Following these latest fee reductions, the average asset-weighted expense ratio across Vanguard’s European equity and fixed income index range will be 0.13%6. Total cost savings from all 2025 fee reductions to date—across both fixed income and equity ETFs—are projected to reach approximately USD 22 million a year7.
 

See, for example, Considerations for index fund investing, Vanguard, 2024.

Source: Vanguard calculations, as at 31 August 2025. The calculation is based on the impact of the OCF reductions based on current AUM levels and would apply to any investors who are invested in the affected UCITS ETFs.

Source: Morningstar data, as at 31 July 2025.

4 The ongoing charges figure (OCF) covers management fees and service costs such as administration, audit, depositary, legal, registration and regulatory expenses incurred in respect of the funds. 

5 Source: ETFbook, as at 31 August 2025. Developed market equity ETFs have seen $37 billion of net inflows year to date, making it the only regional/country exposure with higher net inflows than global equity ETFs in 2025. 

6 Source: Vanguard, as at 7 October 2025 following this latest round of fee reductions.

7 Source: Vanguard calculations, as at 31 August 2025. The calculation is based on the impact of the OCF reductions based on current AUM levels and would apply to any investors who are invested in the affected UCITS ETFs.
 

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The value of investments, and the income from them, may fall or rise and investors may get back less than they invested.

Some funds invest in emerging markets which can be more volatile than more established markets. As a result the value of your investment may rise or fall.

Investments in smaller companies may be more volatile than investments in well-established blue chip companies.

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