Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO): can you buy it from Europe, and what to buy instead

Key facts

A US-domiciled ETF holding the whole S&P 500 for 0.03% a year, listed on NYSE Arca. It pays dividends quarterly.

Checked on 28 Sept 2026. Sources: Vanguard. Fund size changes daily; the TER is the figure that matters for cost.

Why EU brokers will not sell it to you

Since 2018, EU rules (PRIIPs) require a key information document in the investor’s language for any packaged product sold to retail clients. US issuers do not produce one for their US ETFs, so EU brokers block retail purchases. Professional or opted-up clients are the exception.

Even if you could buy it, a US ETF held by a European resident suffers the full US withholding on dividends for the fund plus extra paperwork, and may bring US estate-tax exposure above certain amounts. The Irish UCITS versions avoid most of that.

The UCITS alternatives

The closest match is Vanguard’s own S&P 500 UCITS ETF. The 0.04-point higher TER looks like a loss, but Irish S&P 500 ETFs have beaten their benchmark by about 0.2 points a year, so the net difference with VOO is small.

Data checked on 28 Sept 2026 against each issuer's product page and justETF. TER is the ongoing charge; it does not include broker commissions, spreads or custody fees. Links go to our page for that product where one exists.

Keep it in view with the rest of your money

Whichever version you hold, what matters is the share of your net worth that depends on one country’s market.

FinBoard connects your banks and brokers and shows this position next to everything else, in one currency, so you see what share of your net worth it really is.

This is educational content, not financial advice: it explains how these products work so you can make your own decisions, and it does not recommend buying or selling any of them.