Investors continue to pour serious money into two of the ASX’s most popular Vanguard exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

The Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS) and Vanguard MSCI International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS) now collectively oversee roughly $40 billion in funds under management.

For many Australian investors, the pair represents the foundation of a long-term portfolio. VAS provides broad exposure to the local market, while VGS looks beyond Australia’s borders to developed international markets, including the US.

But with markets shifting and returns differing across regions, are these Vanguard ETFs still worth buying in September?

VAS: The Australian market workhorse

VAS is designed to provide exposure to the 300 largest companies listed on the ASX, making it a straightforward way to own a slice of Australia’s corporate sector through a single investment.

The ETF has gained around 4% in 2026 and about 1% over the past 12 months. That’s hardly spectacular, but its appeal isn’t necessarily about chasing the strongest short-term returns.

Instead, VAS offers diversification across major Australian industries and a relatively attractive income stream. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) and BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) are among its largest holdings, each accounting for more than 10%.

The fund’s dividend yield is around 3.7%, reflecting Australia’s traditionally strong dividend culture.

There is, however, a catch. This Vanguard ETF is heavily tilted towards financials and resources. That means investors are indirectly making a sizeable bet on Australia’s banks, commodity prices and domestic economy.

VGS: Taking the portfolio global

VGS tackles one of the biggest weaknesses of an Australia-only portfolio: concentration.

The Vanguard ETF invests across developed international markets, giving Australian investors exposure to hundreds of companies outside the local market. It has returned around 9% over the past year.

The US makes up a significant portion of the portfolio, with technology giants such as Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ: NVDA) among its largest holdings, each representing more than 5% at the time of writing.

That global exposure can help reduce reliance on Australia’s relatively small and concentrated share market. It also gives investors access to industries and businesses that have a much smaller presence on the ASX.

But VGS isn’t risk-free. International markets can experience sharp corrections, while geopolitical developments and movements in the Australian dollar can affect returns for local investors.

Are they still buys?

For long-term investors, there’s a strong case for both Vanguard ETFs.

VAS can provide domestic exposure and a healthy income stream, while VGS adds international diversification and greater exposure to global growth companies.

Rather than viewing them as competing ETFs, investors could see the two as complementary building blocks.

Neither is guaranteed to outperform from here. But for investors focused on building wealth over decades rather than months, the combination of broad diversification, established companies and relatively simple portfolio construction remains compelling.

The post Are these top Vanguard ETFs still a buy in September? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Marc Van Dinther has positions in BHP Group. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Apple and Nvidia. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Apple, BHP Group, Nvidia, and Vanguard Msci Index International Shares ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Private equity firm Warburg Pincus has swooped in with a buyout offer for Ingenia Communities Group (ASX: INA) just days after the real estate investor’s shares fell sharply on its own takeover deal.

Shares in Ingenia dipped after it revealed plans in late August to acquire Peet Ltd (ASX: PPC), one of Australia’s leading master planned community developers.

Ingenia’s own deal out of favour

Ingenia shares fell from levels above $4 following the announcement of the deal and last traded at $3.65 before Warburg Pincus announced its deal.

That offer is for $4.75 in cash per share. Ingenia shares were up 13.7% to $4.15 in early trade on Monday.

Ingenia said in a statement to the ASX that the Warburg Pincus deal was subject to numerous conditions, including a unanimous recommendation from its board and the Peet deal not proceeding.  

The Ingenia board said that after thorough consideration, it had determined that the offer “substantially undervalues Ingenia and is not in the best interests of its security holders”.  

The company added:

The Board is confident in Ingenia’s strategic direction and growth trajectory. There are strong long-term structural tailwinds supporting continued growth in the land lease communities sector and the attractiveness of Ingenia’s holiday parks business in providing affordable holiday accommodation. Ingenia believes there are significant opportunities to continue to grow its business, enhance the scale and efficiency of its platform, and deliver long term value to its security holders. The Ingenia Board considers that the proposed acquisition of Peet is an important component of Ingenia’s strategy, securing a significant development pipeline which is expected to support Ingenia’s growth and product delivery over time.

Peet deal to grow scale

Ingenia is offering Peet shareholders 68 cents per share as well as 0.3367 Ingenia shares per Peet share.

The Peet board has unanimously approved the deal, subject to an independent expert’s report.

Ingenia said regarding the deal:

The transaction has strong strategic and financial rationale for both sets of securityholders, creating a leading national land lease platform and expanding Ingenia’s presence in the complementary master planned community sector.

Ingenia Communities Chief Executive Officer John Carfi said the deal was a “unique opportunity” to create a high-quality development pipeline on attractive terms.

He added:

The transaction delivers on our core strategic goals, increasing our scale and exposure to land lease development, creating a national platform, accelerating and securing growth beyond our 5-Year Plan, as well as delivering a logical extension to our living strategy that responds to the evolution of the residential sector.

The post Why are Ingenia shares soaring today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Cameron England has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

If you are looking for new additions to your portfolio, then it could be worth listening to what analysts are saying about the popular ASX shares named below, courtesy of The Bull. 

Here’s what they are recommending this week:

Dicker Data Ltd (ASX: DDR)

The team at Vestra Capital is positive on this software and hardware distributor and has named it as a buy this week.

Vestra highlights Dicker Data’s strong top line growth, attractive dividend yield, and exposure to artificial intelligence (AI) spending as reasons to buy. It said:

This technology company distributes hardware and software solutions. It benefits from enterprise spending on AI capable servers, network upgrades and end point security hardware. It generated gross revenue of $2.1 billion in the first half of 2026, up 14.2 per cent on the prior corresponding period. Net profit after tax of $60.7 million was up 54.1 per cent. 

Management has upgraded full year gross revenue guidance to between $4.3 billion and $4.4 billion, alongside profit before tax guidance of between $162 million and $165 million. Double digit top line momentum, an appealing dividend yield and increasing exposure to AI infrastructure spending provides a bright outlook, in my view.

Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX: PME)

Over at Medallion Financial Group, it has named this medical imaging software provider as an ASX share to buy.

Medallion believes that recent share price weakness has created a buying opportunity for investors. It explains:

Pro Medicus is a global leader in medical imaging software, with its Visage platform increasingly adopted by major US hospital networks. Revenue of $261.7 million in full year 2026 rose 22.9 per cent on the prior corresponding period. Underlying net profit after tax of $144.7 million was up 24.1 per cent. Revenue and underlying net profit exceeded expectations, while the underlying earnings before interest and tax margin reached an exceptional 74.9 per cent. 

It signed 10 new contacts worth $407 million in full year 2026. It renewed six contracts on five year terms to the value of $141 million. Recent share price weakness provides an attractive entry point into a high quality growth businesses.

Seek Ltd (ASX: SEK)

Gray Perry Wealth Advisers is a fan of job listings giant Seek and is tipping it as an ASX share to buy this week.

The wealth adviser highlights Seek’s improving return on equity and healthy dividend as reasons to be positive. It said:

Seek operates a leading online employment marketplace, with a dominant position in Australia and established operations across Asia. Its scalable model, strong margins and international expansion provide attractive long-term growth potential. Despite softer job-ad volumes, fiscal year 2026 net revenue rose 10 per cent and EBITDA increased 15 per cent, demonstrating pricing power and operational resilience. 

We’re forecasting earnings to grow about 9.5 per cent annually in the next two years. An improving return on equity and a healthy dividend further support the investment case.

The post Experts name 3 top ASX shares to buy this week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Pro Medicus. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Pro Medicus. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Dicker Data. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Pro Medicus. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.