The latest exchange traded fund (ETF) from Vanguard has launched and is a welcome addition to the fund industry, as well as the fund family.

The Vanguard FTSE All-World ex U.S. Small Cap ETF (VSS) seeks to track a benchmark index of international small-cap companies in both developed and emerging markets.

The ETF holds approximately 2,100 securities and has an expense ratio of 0.38%, making it lower-cost and more broadly diversified than the other small-cap international-focused ETFs available today. This is the only small-cap ETF available that covers developed and emerging markets together.

The index includes these countries, with the largest country allocations as Japan at 19.2%; United Kingdom 16%; Canada 11.1%; France 4.8%; Switzerland 4.5%; Germany 4.4%; Taiwan 3.9%; Australia 3.1%; and South Korea 3%.

Tags: Asia, Asset Class ETFs, Australia, Canada, Emerging Markets, Europe, France, Germany, Global ETFs, Indexing, New ETFs, Small-Cap, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Kingdom, VSS