Boost Retirement Income Without Losing Growth: 5 Vanguard ETFs to Buy

With a great deal of uncertainty in the markets – a government shutdown, jobs numbers, inflationary risks – some of the best investments you can make are in safe, high-yielding exchange-traded funds (ETFs). 

Not only do ETFs offer a good deal of diversification, but they can also help lower your overall risk compared to investing in an average security.

Here are five top Vanguard ETFs with yield to boot that you may want to consider today.

Look at the Vanguard Real Estate ETF   

With an expense ratio of 0.13%, a yield of about 3.7%, and 154 holdings, including a great deal of real estate investment trusts (REITs), the Vanguard Real Estate ETF (NYSEARCA: VNQ) is a safe, long-term real estate opportunity. 

Making it even more attractive is the recovery in commercial real estate. According to analysts at Deloitte, the CRE market is showing signs of recovery in 2025, with some predicting a generational opportunity, as noted in Deloitte’s 2025 Commercial Real Estate Outlook.

Some of the ETF’s top holdings include Welltower, Prologis, American Tower Corp., Equinix, Digital Realty Trust, and Simon Property Group. Plus, it just paid a dividend of just over 87 cents on September 26. Before that, it paid a dividend of just over 86 cents per share on June 30.

Since bottoming out at around $76 in April, the VNQ ETF is now up to $90.18. From here, we’d like to see the ETF rally back to $95 initially.

Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index Fund ETF 

With an expense ratio of 0.05% and a yield of 1.59%, the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Index Fund ETF (NYSE: VIG) tracks the performance of the S&P U.S. Dividend Growers Index.

Some of its 337 holdings include Broadcom, Microsoft, JPMorgan Chase, Apple, and Eli Lilly. Just over 26% of its portfolio is invested in information technology stocks. About 22.6% is invested in financials. And about 15% is invested in health care stocks.

The ETF also just paid out a dividend of just over 86 cents on October 1. Before that, it paid out a dividend of just over 87 cents on July 2. Since bottoming out at around $170 in April, the ETF is now up to $217.27. From here, we’d like to see it rally to $230 initially.

Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF 

With an expense ratio of 0.06% and a yield of 2.45%, the Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (NYSE: VYM) tracks the performance of the FTSE High Dividend Yield Index.

Some of its 579 holdings include Broadcom, JPMorgan Chase, Exxon Mobil, Johnson & Johnson, and Walmart. About 21.7% of its portfolio is invested in financials. About 13.2% is invested in industrials.

The ETF also just paid out a dividend of just over 84 cents on September 23. Before that, it paid out a dividend of just over 86 cents on June 24.

Since bottoming out at around $112 in April, the ETF is now up to $140.88. From here, we’d like to see the VYM ETF rally to $150 initially.

International Dividend Appreciation ETF 

There’s also the International Dividend Appreciation ETF (NASDAQ: VIGI).

With an expense ratio of 0.10% and a yield of about 1.85%, the VIGI ETF tracks the performance of the S&P Global Ex-U.S. Growers Index. Some of its 338 holdings include Royal Bank of Canada, Novartis, SAP SE, Nestlé, Roche Holding, and Sony Group. Just over 42% of its holdings are invested in the European region. And about 32.77% of its portfolio is invested in the Pacific region.

The ETF also just paid out a dividend of just over 36 cents per share on September 23. Before that, it paid out a dividend of just over 54 cents per share on June 24.

Since bottoming out at around $74 in April, the ETF is now up to $90.73. While it is pulling back from a lofty valuation, we’d like to see it rally to $100 over the long haul.

Vanguard Mega Cap ETF 

We can also look at the Vanguard Mega Cap ETF (NYSE: MGC).

With an expense ratio of 0.07% and a yield of just under 1%, the MGC ETF tracks the performance of the CRSP U.S. Mega Cap Index.

Some of its 185 holdings include Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon.com, Broadcom, Alphabet, and Tesla. Also, about 45% of its portfolio is invested in technology. About 14% is invested in consumer discretionary. And about 10.7% is invested in financial stocks.

The MGC ETF also just paid out a dividend of just over 58 cents on October 1. Before that, it paid out a dividend of just over 55 cents on July 2.

Since bottoming out at around $175 in April, the MGC ETF is now up to $245.43. From here, we’d like to see it test $260 a share.