Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, the Vanguard Small-Cap ETF (NYSE: VB) has earned a respected four-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Vanguard Small-Cap and see what CAPS investors are saying about the ETF right now.

Vanguard Small-Cap facts

Inception January 2004
Total Assets $4 billion
Investment Approach Seeks to track the performance of the MSCI US Small Cap 1750, a broadly diversified index of stocks of smaller U.S. companies.
Expense Ratio 0.17%
Dividend Yield 1.4%
1-Year/ 3-Year / 5-Year Annualized Returns 11.5% / 21.4% / 3.1%
Top Holdings with High CAPS Rating (4 or 5 Stars) and Portfolio Weight

American Capital Agency (Nasdaq: AGNC) (0.29%)

BE Aerospace (Nasdaq: BEAV) (0.24%)

Panera Bread (Nasdaq: PNRA) (0.22%)
Alternatives

iShares Russell 2000 Index (NYSE: IWM)

iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Index (NYSE: IJR)

Sources: Morningstar and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 90.5% of the 147 members who have rated Vanguard Small-Cap believe the ETF will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include Zen1212 and acegdl007.

Last year, Zen1212 succinctly summed up the investment case: "If you're looking for a way to get into small caps but are concerned about the risks and volatility of small cap stocks, this is a good way to diversify a portfolio and spread the risk out."

Vanguard Small-Cap, in particular, sports a low expense ratio of just 0.17%. That's cheaper than that of other small-cap ETF plays like iShares Russell 2000 (0.26%) and iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 (0.20%).

CAPS member acegdl007 expands on the outperform argument:

Vanguard started offering this about 6 years ago as an ETF version of its Small Cap mutual fund. ... Vanguard has a great reputation for offering attractive funds and ETF's with some of the lowest management costs and fees. This is a great ETF/fund to include in a 401k portfolio that will add a comfortable dose of risk with potential for good growth in the long term.

What do you think about Vanguard Small-Cap, or any other ETF for that matter? If you want to retire rich, you need to put together the best portfolio you can. Owning exceptional ETFs is a surefire way to secure your financial future, and on Motley Fool CAPS, thousands of investors are working every day to find them. CAPS is 100% free, so get started!

Interested in another easy way to track Vanguard Small-Cap? Add it to your watchlist.