This Overlooked Vanguard ETF Could Quietly Outperform the S&P 500 Over the Next 5 Years

2026-03-09 16:55:00 ET

The last three years (and most of the last decade, really) have been dominated by U.S. large caps. Much of that growth has come from a narrow group of mega-cap tech stocks . The artificial intelligence (AI) revolution and the massive investments being made into its development have resulted in big revenue and earnings growth, making this one of the market's most successful groups.

But there's been a big shift in 2026. The market has begun focusing on sectors that will be harmed by the emergence of AI and questioning whether the hundreds of billions of dollars being spent will yield an adequate return on investment. That has caused a major rotation away from tech and into previously unloved areas of the market, including value, dividend , and defensive stocks.

We're also seeing big outperformance from small company stocks, too. While these companies are generally viewed as more speculative and riskier, there has been so much value built up in them that they've also become a natural landing spot in the current market rotation.

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