VAB.TO Alternatives & Similar ETFs

Vanguard Canadian Aggregate Bond Index ETF (VAB.TO) belongs to the Canadian Government Bonds category. Below you'll find alternative ETFs from the same category, ranked by key criteria, plus funds that investors commonly compare with VAB.TO. Use the tables to find lower-cost options, better risk-adjusted returns, or a closer substitute for your current allocation.

Cheapest Alternatives to VAB.TO

VAB.TO charges 0.09% annually. There is 1 ETF in the Canadian Government Bonds category with a lower expense ratio, going as low as 0.08%.

Symbol	Name	Expense Ratio	AUM	Inception
TDB.TO	TD Canadian Aggregate Bond Index ETF	0.08%	3.82B	Mar 2016	VAB.TO vs TDB.TO
ZAG.TO	BMO Aggregate Bond Index ETF	0.09%	12.80B	Jan 2010	VAB.TO vs ZAG.TO
XSB.TO	iShares Core Canadian Short Term Bond Index ETF	0.10%	4.21B	Nov 2000	VAB.TO vs XSB.TO
XBB.TO	iShares Core Canadian Universe Bond Index ETF	0.10%	9.96B	Nov 2000	VAB.TO vs XBB.TO
CBIL.TO	Global X 0-3 Month T-Bill ETF	0.10%	2.27B	Apr 2023	VAB.TO vs CBIL.TO

Best Risk-Adjusted Alternatives to VAB.TO

VAB.TO has a PortfoliosLab risk / return rank of 21. There are 21 ETFs in the Canadian Government Bonds category with higher risk-adjusted ranks, going as high as 99.

Symbol	Name	Risk / Return Rank	AUM	Inception
CBIL.TO	Global X 0-3 Month T-Bill ETF	99	2.27B	Apr 2023	VAB.TO vs CBIL.TO
VVSG.TO	Vanguard Canadian Ultra-Short Government Bond Inde...	99	207.90M	Sep 2024	VAB.TO vs VVSG.TO
TCSH.TO	TD Cash Management ETF	99	—	Feb 2024	VAB.TO vs TCSH.TO
XFR.TO	iShares Floating Rate Index ETF	98	812.99M	Dec 2011	VAB.TO vs XFR.TO
ZBI.TO	BMO Canadian Bank Income Index ETF	85	—	Feb 2022	VAB.TO vs ZBI.TO

Top Performing VAB.TO Alternatives (YTD)

VAB.TO is at 1.62% YTD. There are 7 ETFs in the Canadian Government Bonds category with higher YTD returns, going as high as 2.77%.

Symbol	Name	YTD Return	AUM	Inception
XLB.TO	iShares Core Canadian Long Term Bond Index ETF	2.77%	752.21M	Nov 2006	VAB.TO vs XLB.TO
XFLB.TO	iShares Core Canadian 15+ Year Federal Bond Index ...	2.42%	—	Feb 2023	VAB.TO vs XFLB.TO
ZFL.TO	BMO Long Federal Bond	2.39%	1.31B	May 2010	VAB.TO vs ZFL.TO
CORE.TO	PIMCO Canadian Core Bond Fund	2.24%	—	Jan 2011	VAB.TO vs CORE.TO
TCLB.TO	TD Canadian Long Term Federal Bond ETF	2.20%	391.68M	Nov 2019	VAB.TO vs TCLB.TO

Lowest Volatility Alternatives to VAB.TO

VAB.TO has 4.38% 1-year volatility. There are 20 ETFs in the Canadian Government Bonds category with lower 1-year volatility, going as low as 0.25%.

Symbol	Name	Volatility 1Y	AUM	Inception
CBIL.TO	Global X 0-3 Month T-Bill ETF	0.25%	2.27B	Apr 2023	VAB.TO vs CBIL.TO
VVSG.TO	Vanguard Canadian Ultra-Short Government Bond Inde...	0.36%	207.90M	Sep 2024	VAB.TO vs VVSG.TO
TCSH.TO	TD Cash Management ETF	0.46%	—	Feb 2024	VAB.TO vs TCSH.TO
XFR.TO	iShares Floating Rate Index ETF	0.72%	812.99M	Dec 2011	VAB.TO vs XFR.TO
ZST.TO	BMO Ultra Short-Term Bond ETF	1.08%	3.53B	Jan 2011	VAB.TO vs ZST.TO

Lowest Drawdown Alternatives to VAB.TO

VAB.TO has a 1-year max drawdown of -2.83%. There are 23 ETFs in the Canadian Government Bonds category with shallower 1-year drawdowns, going as shallow as -0.04%.

Symbol	Name	Max Drawdown 1Y	AUM	Inception
CBIL.TO	Global X 0-3 Month T-Bill ETF	-0.04%	2.27B	Apr 2023	VAB.TO vs CBIL.TO
TCSH.TO	TD Cash Management ETF	-0.10%	—	Feb 2024	VAB.TO vs TCSH.TO
XFR.TO	iShares Floating Rate Index ETF	-0.10%	812.99M	Dec 2011	VAB.TO vs XFR.TO
VVSG.TO	Vanguard Canadian Ultra-Short Government Bond Inde...	-0.14%	207.90M	Sep 2024	VAB.TO vs VVSG.TO
ZST.TO	BMO Ultra Short-Term Bond ETF	-1.01%	3.53B	Jan 2011	VAB.TO vs ZST.TO

Other ETFs from Vanguard

The 10 most viewed Vanguard ETFs shown here include VFV.TO, VDY.TO, VEQT.TO and span 7 categories. AUM among these funds goes as high as $33B.

Symbol	Name	Category	Risk / Return Rank	YTD Return	AUM	Inception
VFV.TO	Vanguard S&P 500 Index ETF	S&P 500	74	12.30%	32.85B	Nov 2012	VAB.TO vs VFV.TO
VDY.TO	Vanguard FTSE Canadian High Dividend Yield Index E...	Dividend	98	20.59%	7.99B	Nov 2012	VAB.TO vs VDY.TO
VEQT.TO	Vanguard All-Equity ETF Portfolio	Global Equities	81	12.75%	14.70B	Jan 2019	VAB.TO vs VEQT.TO
VGRO.TO	Vanguard Growth ETF Portfolio	Diversified Portfolio	76	10.34%	10.14B	Jan 2018	VAB.TO vs VGRO.TO
VCN.TO	Vanguard FTSE Canada All Cap Index ETF	Canada Equities	77	10.48%	15.96B	Aug 2013	VAB.TO vs VCN.TO
VBAL.TO	Vanguard Balanced ETF Portfolio	Diversified Portfolio	68	8.13%	5.44B	Jan 2018	VAB.TO vs VBAL.TO
VIU.TO	Vanguard FTSE Developed All Cap ex North America I...	International Equity	62	16.73%	10.65B	Dec 2015	VAB.TO vs VIU.TO
VCE.TO	Vanguard FTSE Canada Index ETF	Canada Equities	72	10.03%	3.48B	Nov 2011	VAB.TO vs VCE.TO
VIDY.TO	Vanguard FTSE Developed ex North America High Divi...	Foreign Large Cap Equities, Dividend	59	10.45%	1.90B	Aug 2018	VAB.TO vs VIDY.TO
VXC.TO	Vanguard FTSE Global All Cap ex Canada Index ETF	Global Equities	75	13.63%	3.45B	Jun 2014	VAB.TO vs VXC.TO

Often Compared With VAB.TO

Investors most often compare VAB.TO with XCB.TO, VSB.TO, TLT. These 20 comparison targets span 15 categories, based on PortfoliosLab usage data.

Symbol	Name	Category	Risk / Return Rank	YTD Return	AUM	Inception
XCB.TO	iShares Core Canadian Corporate Bond Index ETF	Corporate Bonds	31	1.75%	3.28B	Nov 2006	VAB.TO vs XCB.TO
VSB.TO	Vanguard Canadian Short Term Bond	Canadian Government Bonds	43	0.97%	1.56B	Nov 2011	VAB.TO vs VSB.TO
TLT	iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF	Government Bonds, Long-Term Bond	16	-0.27%	42.90B	Jul 2002	VAB.TO vs TLT
VCB.TO	Vanguard Canadian Corporate Bond Index ETF	Corporate Bonds	34	1.58%	801.89M	Jan 2017	VAB.TO vs VCB.TO
XAGH.TO	iShares U.S. Aggregate Bond Index ETF (CAD-Hedged)	Total Bond Market	22	-0.57%	—	Aug 2021	VAB.TO vs XAGH.TO
TLTW	iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond BuyWrite Strategy E...	Options Trading	36	1.21%	1.97B	Jun 2022	VAB.TO vs TLTW
XEQT.TO	iShares Core Equity ETF Portfolio	Global Equities	75	12.29%	18.41B	Aug 2019	VAB.TO vs XEQT.TO
DGRO	iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF	Large Cap Growth Equities, Dividend	71	8.76%	40.46B	Jun 2014	VAB.TO vs DGRO
XHB.TO	iShares Canadian HYBrid Corporate Bond Index ETF	Corporate Bonds	51	2.17%	226.19M	Sep 2010	VAB.TO vs XHB.TO
ZDB.TO	BMO Discount Bond	Canadian Government Bonds	19	1.53%	1.26B	Feb 2014	VAB.TO vs ZDB.TO
ZCM.TO	BMO Mid Corporate Bond Index ETF	Corporate Bonds	32	1.96%	1.43B	Jan 2010	VAB.TO vs ZCM.TO
ZSP.TO	BMO S&P 500 Index ETF	S&P 500	72	12.15%	23.82B	Nov 2012	VAB.TO vs ZSP.TO
VBG.NEO	Vanguard Global ex-U.S. Aggregate Bond Index ETF (...	Global Bonds	6	-0.37%	—	Jun 2014	VAB.TO vs VBG.NEO
VBU.NEO	Vanguard U.S. Aggregate Bond Index ETF	Total Bond Market	7	-2.27%	—	Jun 2014	VAB.TO vs VBU.NEO
CASH.TO	Global X High Interest Savings ETF	Money Market	100	0.83%	6.70B	Nov 2021	VAB.TO vs CASH.TO
VCIP.TO	Vanguard Conservative Income ETF Portfolio	Diversified Portfolio	44	3.28%	254.60M	Jan 2019	VAB.TO vs VCIP.TO
BND	Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF	Total Bond Market	37	0.27%	389.80B	Apr 2007	VAB.TO vs BND
ZFH.TO	BMO Floating Rate High Yield ETF	High Yield Bonds	43	2.17%	246.14M	Feb 2014	VAB.TO vs ZFH.TO
CLG.TO	iShares 1-10 Year Laddered Government Bond Index E...	Canadian Government Bonds	27	1.12%	933.75M	Oct 2011	VAB.TO vs CLG.TO
XRB.TO	iShares Canadian Real Return Bond Index ETF	Inflation-Protected Bonds	16	2.56%	268.93M	Dec 2005	VAB.TO vs XRB.TO

Compare VAB.TO with Any Fund or Stock

Compare VAB.TO with any ETF, mutual fund, or stock using PortfoliosLab's comparison tool.

Symbol name

Diversifiers

Pair VAB.TO with funds that move differently

Vanguard Canadian Aggregate Bond Index ETF alternatives help with substitution. Diversifiers are the next step when you want funds with lower historical correlation to VAB.TO.

Explore VAB.TO Diversifiers

Vanguard Canadian Aggregate Bond Index ETF (VAB.TO) Alternatives