Index fund giant, the Vanguard Group, has launched its new exchange-traded funds, VIPERs, on the American Stock Exchange today.

The Vanguard Index Participation Equity Receipts, or VIPERs, are ETFs. The one launched today, the Vanguard Total Stock Market VIPERSs, is based on the Wilshire 5000 Total Market index, through a new class of shares of the US$24-billion Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund. Unlike most ETFs,
which are stand-alone products, the VIPERs are a new share class of the existing Vanguard fund.

Like other ETFs, VIPERs are tradable like stocks and are dirt cheap. The VIPERs launched today will have an annual expense ratio of just 15 basis points. Shareholders in the traditional shares of the Total Stock Market Index Fund will be eligible to convert to VIPERs on a tax-free basis.

Vanguard has also filed for three VIPERs based on funds that track indexesoperated by Standard & Poor’s, but back in April it lost a copyright suit with S&P’s parent, McGraw-Hill, preventing it from using the S&P name without paying for it. Vanguard is appealing that ruling.