Another ETF Exit? Really?

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So, Endowment Wealth Management… they dumped their entire stake in the Vanguard Russell 1000 ETF. All of it. 9,747 shares. $2.95 million. It’s just… a choice. A decision was made. And nobody bothered to send out a memo explaining why. Like we’re all supposed to just intuit these things. It’s infuriating. They just quietly exited. Like they were leaving a bad movie.

What happened, exactly?

According to a filing – a filing, mind you, because transparency is clearly paramount – they sold it all in the fourth quarter. The value? $2.95 million. Based on… averages. Averages! As if that’s precise enough for anything. The fund’s position went to zero. Zero! It’s… decisive. And again, no explanation. I mean, are we expected to applaud this financial maneuvering? It’s like someone cancelling cable and expecting a parade.

What else to know?

  • They sold it. All of it. I feel like I’m repeating myself, but it’s important.
  • Their top holdings now? PSP, ITOT, VTI, COWZ… it’s just a soup of acronyms. Millions here, millions there. It’s… fine. It’s all fine. Until it isn’t.
  • VONE, as they call it, was up 14.6% over the year. Beating the S&P 500 by 0.64 percentage points. Which, let’s be honest, is barely noticeable. Like finding a penny in a parking lot.

ETF overview

Metric Value
AUM N/A
Price (as of market close February 6, 2026) $313.56
Dividend yield 1.05%
1-year total return 14.59%

ETF snapshot

It’s supposed to mimic the Russell 1000 Index. Large-cap U.S. equities. Diversified. Low expense ratio. All the buzzwords. It’s designed for investors seeking broad U.S. equity market exposure. Which is… what most investors are seeking, isn’t it? It’s just… remarkably uninspired.

They hold a broad selection of large-cap stocks. Each security is held in proportion to its index weight. It’s… algorithmic. It lacks… soul. And they want my money?

What this transaction means for investors

It’s an interesting move, I’ll grant them that. Completely exiting a popular Vanguard ETF. Investing in large-cap and mid-cap stocks. In the Russell 1000. But why? Is it a signal? A warning? Or just someone making a decision on a Tuesday afternoon? It’s the ambiguity that gets me.

They say it may indicate they were wary of large-cap valuations. Skyrocketing valuations. Well, good for them. They noticed. Everyone noticed. But still, no explanation.

The ETF has been mostly sideways in 2026. Down 1%. A whole percent! Meanwhile, they’re still holding a Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, growth ETFs, tech ETFs… international and bond ETFs. A healthy allocation. So they’re spreading the risk. Smart. But it doesn’t explain why they dumped VONE. It just feels… passive-aggressive.

So, diversification. It’s always diversification. It’s the safe answer. The responsible answer. But it feels like a cop-out. Like they’re admitting they don’t really know what they’re doing. And that, my friends, is truly terrifying.

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2026-02-23 22:35