If you're in the market for passive income, then a dividend-focused exchange-traded fund (ETF) is a great option to consider. These ETFs allow you to own hundreds of dividend-paying stocks with a single investment, reducing your risk of overconcentration in just a few businesses.

Vanguard ETFs are especially popular with income investors thanks to their rock-bottom fees and their stellar track records. Nevertheless, Wall Street has been more interested in growth lately, and so the company's dividend-focused funds have trailed the market in the past decade. Let's take a look at Vanguard's biggest dividend ETFs.

National and international coverage

Vanguard dividend ETFs cover two main categories: dividend growth and current yield. The first provides exposure to some of the fastest-growing dividends among large companies. The second tilts more toward higher yield today.

You can also choose to focus on U.S. stocks or on international stocks within these two categories. All told, there are four major Vanguard dividend ETFs to choose from:

1. Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (NYSEMKT: VYM)

2. Vanguard International High Dividend Yield ETF (NASDAQ: VYMI)

3. Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (NYSEMKT: VIG)

4. Vanguard International Dividend Appreciation ETF (NASDAQ: VIGI)

None of these funds has outperformed the over 200% rise in the S&P 500 in the past decade. That's no surprise given the fact that growth stocks have powered the market's rally in recent years. Conversely, dividend stocks tend to outperform when indexes are dropping or when fears are rising about a recession on the way.

The 10-year winner

Still, the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF has outpaced its peers by a wide margin after gaining 170% in the past decade. That's as compared to the worst-performing dividend ETF, the Vanguard International High Dividend Yield fund, with its 85% return in 10 years .

You'll own 340 stocks by purchasing a single share of this winning fund, which counts Apple, Microsoft, and Home Depot among its top holdings. Expenses are low, and the dividend appreciation fund delivers a current yield of 1.8%. That's a bit better than you would get from owning the wider stock market, which yields 1.4% today.

Yet there are much higher yields available to income investors. Vanguard's International High Dividend Yield fund pays nearly 5%, for example. Several members of the Dow Jones Industrial Average also pay over 3%.

Yet the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF offers a better balance between tech stocks and sturdy income stocks than you'll find with most other ETFs. Owning either the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index ETF, or the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF will give extra exposure to huge tech giants. The "Magnificent Seven" are all represented in the top 10 holdings of these ETFs, for example.

That means your returns might lag the broader market during tech-fueled rallies like the one that investors have seen this past year. Yet the Dividend Appreciation ETF will likely beat the market during downturns or any time there are spiking fears about a recession on the way.

The Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF won't cover all items on an income investor's wish list. It would play a powerful role as part of a diversified portfolio, though, that includes other ETFs and perhaps some individual dividend stocks as well. If you're looking for an efficient way to gain access to dividend growth, then consider buying this winning ETF.

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Demitri Kalogeropoulos has positions in Apple, Home Depot, and Vanguard Index Funds-Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple, Home Depot, Microsoft, Vanguard Index Funds-Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF, Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, Vanguard Specialized Funds-Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF, and Vanguard Whitehall Funds-Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Should You Buy the Best-Performing Vanguard Dividend ETF of the Decade? was originally published by The Motley Fool