Vanguard Group and Wellington Management have a long-standing partnership that’s resulted in billions upon billions of dollars flowing to various actively managed Vanguard-branded funds that are sub-advised by Wellington.

The two companies are extending their relationship, joining the spate of issuers that are bringing popular mutual funds to the world of exchange traded funds. A new filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) confirms Vanguard is looking to bring the following active ETFs to market: the Vanguard Wellington Dividend Growth Active ETF (VDIG), Vanguard Wellington U. S. Growth Active ETF (VUSG), and Vanguard Wellington U. S. Value Active ETF (VUSV).

Introducing new ETFs at brisk pace relative to its history, Vanguard isn’t betraying its passive roots, but is amplifying the often overshadowed active side of its business.

“It has also pushed further into actively managed bond ETFs over the past several years. However, they don’t represent a huge portion of its business,” notes Morningstar analyst Daniel Sotiroff. “Excluding its ETFs-of-ETFs, Vanguard had approximately $15 billion sitting in actively managed ETFs at the end of July 2025—a tiny fraction of the $10 trillion that it manages globally. ”

New ETFs Pricey By Vanguard Standards

Advisors and clients alike know about Vanguard’s low-fee reputation – one that’s well-earned. The aforementioned new ETFs don’t threaten that status, but as the Morningstar table below confirms, the fresh products are somewhat pricey relative to the issuer’s history.

Still, the new Vanguard offerings will be priced below the median 0. 44% expense ratio found on ETFs and far below the median annual fee of 0. 92% on active mutual funds. The other potential positive is that the expected expense ratios, Vanguard as the leeway to possibly lower fees on the new ETFs – something the issuer has a documented history of doing.

“Vanguard and its clients both stand to benefit. The latter gets lower fees and a more tax-efficient investment,” adds Sotiroff. “All else equal, those traits lead to better long-term performance. Vanguard gets a more attractive investment that’s easier to sell for those same reasons. ”

Forecasting Success for New Vanguard ETFs

More than 600 ETFs have come to market this year confirming competition in the space remains as intense as ever. Not all rookie ETFs will make it. Actually, many won’t, but the odds of success for the aforementioned Vanguard ETFs are short.

There’s no denying there’s a significant advantage associated with Vanguard branding and a slew of active mutual funds without that benefit have found success when venturing into ETF Land.

DNA helps. The mutual fund equivalent the Vanguard Wellington U. S. Value Active ETF has $23. 8 billion in assets under management while the mutual fund forefather of the Vanguard Wellington U. S. Growth Active ETF is a $7. 9 billion product. The Vanguard Dividend Growth Fund is a $46. 4 billion behemoth. Those data points aren’t guarantors of success for the ETF counterparts, but those stats success won’t be hard to come by for the rookie ETFs.