Vanguard Launches Eight Index Funds, 9 ETFs

Vanguard has launched eight index mutual funds and nine exchange-traded funds based on Standard & Poor's domestic stock benchmarks.

Among the products are ETF shares of Vanguard's flagship Vanguard 500 Index Fund, the industry's first index mutual fund for individual investors and currently the second-largest index mutual fund,with $86.8 billion in net assets, according to Lipper Inc. The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF has an expense ratio of 0.06%, which is the lowest expense ratio for an ETF based on the S&P 500 Index, according to Morningstar Inc.

Vanguard's family of ETFs will expand to 55 offerings with the introduction of eight new equity funds and ETFs targeting the growth and value segments of the S&P 500 Index and the growth, value, and blend segments of the S&P MidCap 400 and SmallCap 600 Indexes.

Bill McNabb, Vanguard's chairman and CEO, said that the new funds will "appeal to financial advisers and institutional investors seeking to build portfolios based on S&P benchmarks."