Vanguard Index Participation Receipts - VIPERs

Vanguard Index Participation Receipts - VIPERs

An ETF whose underlying asset is a Vanguard index fund. VIPERs are traded like any other share on the American Stock Exchange. The performance of the VIPER and the net asset value (NAV) of the Vanguard index fund follow each other closely. The benefit of a VIPER is that an investor receives both the lower cost of index funds, and the liquidity of an exchange-traded stock.

Notes:

The main difference between a Vanguard index fund and the VIPER that follows it is that a VIPER can be bought and sold anytime during the trading day at the current market price (like any ETF) while the fund can only be bought or sold based on the NAV closing price of the fund. There are a large number of VIPERs including Vanguard Energy VIPERs, Vanguard Financials VIPERs and Vanguard Mid-Cap VIPERs.

See also: American Stock Exchange - AMEX, Equity Linked Note - ELN, Exchange-Traded Fund - ETF, Index Fund, Net Asset Value - NAV, Underlying