Possibly stupid question regarding ETF

[bmwmike]

Hello

I've got some investments in VWRL and VWRP, and some other passive global trackers. I'm not overly keen on VWRL/P as its only half the companies of a good globaly tracker (3800 vs 7500 ish) and doesn't do smaller cap. I am trying to buy Vanguard VT but its not available via vanguards own platform in the UK, nor via HSBC, Aegon, nor via AJBell. VWRP isn't available via vanguard, hsbc, or aegon either, but is via AJBell.

So my question is - am i missing something really obvious? Why wouldn't vanguard sell VT? Why the disparity across providers, which leads to my next question..

Is there a way to search a fund or ETF and find out who actually sells it?

Many thanks
Mike

[NowWatchThisDrive]

VT is only listed in the US so you can't buy it over here.

Any difference in performance between that and VWRL will be practically indiscernible anyway, as the weightings of small cap and any extra countries in the former will be tiny.

[eyebeebe]

NowWatchThisDrive said:

VT is only listed in the US so you can't buy it over here.

Any difference in performance between that and VWRL will be practically indiscernible anyway, as the weightings of small cap and any extra countries in the former will be tiny.

I can’t speak for the U.K. but I have VT in my portfolio here in Switzerland, so it is possible to buy outside of the US.

[anonymous-user]

bmwmike said:

Hello
...
So my question is - am i missing something really obvious? Why wouldn't vanguard sell VT? Why the disparity across providers, which leads to my next question..
...

It's all linked to the UK/EU rules which restrict what you can buy (MiFID 2 is the specific regulation I believe). You can bypass some of the rules by opening an account with Interactive Broker and applying for their pro status, but you have to jump through some hoops relating to your trading history and account size to prove you can "handle" the risky idea of buying a US Vanguard index ETF....

[NowWatchThisDrive]

eyebeebe said:

NowWatchThisDrive said:

VT is only listed in the US so you can't buy it over here.

Any difference in performance between that and VWRL will be practically indiscernible anyway, as the weightings of small cap and any extra countries in the former will be tiny.

I can’t speak for the U.K. but I have VT in my portfolio here in Switzerland, so it is possible to buy outside of the US.

Yep, because the KID requirement that stops UK/EU investors buying US ETFs doesn't apply to the Swiss.

But for the OP it's all academic anyway since the performance of VWRL is virtually identical once you account for the FX.