London Stock Exchange ETF segment · UCITS ETF
Invest in VUAA ETF from India
Indian and foreign residents can buy Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF (VUAA) units directly through Paasa.
By Paasa · Updated
VUAA at a glance
- Price
- $148.92+$0.56 (0.38%)
- Expense ratio
- 0.07%
- Day range
- $148.20 – $149.04
- Assets
- $89.2B
- Domicile
- Ireland
- Holdings
- 512
- Launched
- 2019
- Dividends
- Accumulating
- 1 month
- -0.76%
- 6 months
- +20.56%
- YTD
- +12.19%
- 1 year
- +16.65%
- 5 years
- +87.56%
Price change, excluding dividends.
Top 10 holdings
- 1NVIDIA Corp8.1%
- 2Apple Inc7.0%
- 3Microsoft Corp5.7%
- 4Amazon.com Inc3.8%
- 5Alphabet Inc3.0%
- 6Broadcom Inc2.7%
- 7Alphabet Inc2.4%
- 8Meta Platforms Inc1.9%
- 9Micron Technology Inc1.6%
- 10Tesla Inc1.6%
VUAA holds 512 securities in total. These 10 are 37.9% of the fund.
Where the money is invested
Sectors
- Technology38.7%
- Financial Services12.0%
- Communication Services9.5%
- Consumer Cyclical9.3%
- Healthcare9.3%
- Industrials7.8%
Countries
- United States97.6%
- Ireland1.2%
- United Kingdom0.4%
- Switzerland0.3%
- Singapore0.3%
- Netherlands0.1%
Similar funds
| Fund | Expense ratio | Assets |
|---|---|---|
| VOOAMEXVanguard S&P 500 ETF | 0.03% | 1.8T |
| IVVAMEXiShares Core S&P 500 ETF | 0.03% | 883.8B |
| CSPXLSEiShares Core S&P 500 UCITS ETF | 0.07% | 155.0B |
| SPXSLSEInvesco S&P 500 UCITS ETF | 0.05% | 59.9B |
| VUSDLSEVanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF (USD) Distributing | 0.07% | 89.2B |
Assets are shown in each fund's own reporting currency.
How to invest in VUAA from India
Step 1
Open your Paasa account
KYC takes a few minutes: PAN, Aadhaar and address proof. Your brokerage account is opened in your own name with Interactive Brokers.
Step 2
Add funds from your Indian bank account
Remit up to $250,000 a year under the RBI's Liberalised Remittance Scheme. Your bank converts the rupees to US dollars at its rate on the day you remit.
Step 3
Search VUAA and buy
Find the fund by its ticker, VUAA, on the London Stock Exchange ETF segment, and place your order.
Why invest in VUAA from India
What VUAA holds
The Fund employs a passive management – or indexing – investment approach, through physical acquisition of securities, and seeks to track the performance of the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index (the “Index”).
Outside US estate tax
VUAA is domiciled in Ireland, not the US, so it is not a US-situs asset and US estate tax does not apply to it.
Dividends reinvested for you
Dividends from VUAA's holdings are reinvested inside the fund, so nothing is paid out to you and there is no dividend to declare in India.
Hold a dollar asset
VUAA is priced in US dollars, so a weaker rupee adds to what it's worth in rupees. The rupee depreciated over 85% against the dollar between 2010 and 2025.
Paasa handles the paperwork
Investing abroad brings paperwork with it: remittance filings, capital gains reporting, foreign asset disclosure. Paasa prepares all of it for you. Your India-ready tax reports arrive at year end, ready to file.
Why VUAA's UCITS structure matters for Indian investors
VUAA is domiciled in Ireland, not the US, so it is not a US-situs asset and US estate tax does not apply to it.
On the US shares the fund holds, the 15% US dividend withholding is paid inside the fund, and you cannot claim it as a Foreign Tax Credit in India.
Capital gains are taxed in India the same way as on a US-listed ETF.
Frequently asked questions
Can I buy VUAA from India?
Yes. Indian residents can buy Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF (VUAA) through Paasa. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange ETF segment and trades in US dollars. Your money leaves India under the RBI's Liberalised Remittance Scheme, and the units are held in your own name at Interactive Brokers.
What does VUAA invest in?
Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF holds 512 securities. Its largest holdings are NVIDIA Corp (8.1%), Apple Inc (7.0%) and Microsoft Corp (5.7%). Technology is its largest sector at 38.7%. It is an accumulating fund domiciled in Ireland.
What is the expense ratio of VUAA?
Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF has an expense ratio of 0.07% a year, taken from the fund's assets rather than billed to you. The fund manages about $89.2B.
Is VUAA a UCITS ETF, and why does that matter for Indian investors?
Yes. Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF is a UCITS fund domiciled in Ireland. Because it is domiciled outside the US, it is not a US-situs asset, so US estate tax does not apply to it. On the US shares the fund holds, the 15% US dividend withholding is paid inside the fund, and you cannot claim it as a Foreign Tax Credit in India.
Does VUAA pay dividends?
No. Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF is an accumulating fund. Dividends from its holdings are reinvested inside the fund, so nothing is paid out to you and there is no dividend to declare in India.
What tax do I pay in India when I sell VUAA?
In India, gains on foreign ETF units held for more than 24 months are long-term and taxed at 12.5% without indexation, and gains on units held for 24 months or less are short-term and taxed at your income-tax slab rate. Both are worked out in rupees at the USD/INR rate on the day you bought and the day you sold, so the currency move is part of the gain. Paasa's capital-gains statement gives you the figures for your return.