Ares Capital Corporation vs Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund ETF — how do they compare? Ares Capital Corporation trades at $19.86 (market cap $14.34B), while Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund ETF trades at $60.4. The key difference: Ares Capital Corporation pays a 9.61% dividend while Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund ETF pays none, and Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund ETF is trading nearer its 52-week high, Ares Capital Corporation nearer its low. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| ARCC | VWO | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $14.34B | — |
Sector | Financials | — |
52-Week High | $22.68 | $61.24 |
52-Week Low | $17.45 | $51.20 |
Dividend Yield | 9.61% | — |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
ARCC trades at $19.98, down 0.15% on the day, with a P/E of 14.9 and P/B of 1.03. Recent quarterly earnings have consistently missed expectations, with Q2 2026 EPS of $0.47 falling short of the $0.4731 estimate. Technical indicators show a bullish moving average signal but bearish oscillators, with RSI at 78.37 suggesting overbought conditions. The company maintains a strong dividend yield of approximately 9.6% with consistent $0.48 quarterly payments.
While ARCC offers attractive income with its high dividend yield and strong analyst support (24 buy ratings), investors face risks from declining revenue trends and compressed earnings. The stock trades near consensus price targets, limiting near-term upside potential. Credit quality concerns in the private lending sector and potential interest rate sensitivity present additional headwinds for this business development company.
VWO trades at $60.49, up 0.27% with a bullish technical signal from moving averages. The ETF shows strong institutional accumulation with multiple advisors increasing positions recently. Emerging markets are experiencing record capital inflows as investors diversify beyond US stocks, with VWO offering low-cost exposure to developing economies at a 0.06% expense ratio.
The outlook remains positive given institutional support and emerging market momentum, though risks include China's weighting impact and potential volatility. VWO's low expense ratio and 2.4% dividend yield provide competitive advantages over peers like EEM (0.69% fee) for emerging market exposure.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Latest headlines on both assets
Ares Capital Corp is a United States-based closed-ended specialty finance company. Its investment objective is to generate both current income and capital appreciation through debt and equity investments. The company focuses on investing primarily in U.S. middle-market companies with investment opportunities as well as in larger companies. Its portfolio comprises of first lien senior secured loans, second lien senior secured loans, and mezzanine debt (subordinated unsecured loan), which may include equity components that are diversified by industry and sector. The company may invest in preferred and common equity investments to a lesser proportion. Its revenue mainly consists of interest and dividend income received from the investment made.
Read more on ARCC →The fund employs an indexing investment approach designed to track the performance of the FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap China A Inclusion Index. It invests by sampling the index, meaning that it holds a broadly diversified collection of securities that, in the aggregate, approximates the index in terms of key characteristics.
Read more on VWO →