DIA vs VUG: how much do they really overlap?
DIA (SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF, tracking the Dow Jones Industrial Average) and VUG (Vanguard Growth ETF, tracking the CRSP US Large Cap Growth) overlap by roughly 21% by weight. 3 of DIA's top 10 holdings also appear in VUG. A 50/50 blend of the two behaves like about 29 equally-weighted bets (diversification grade C). In short, the two funds have only a small shared core — they mostly hold different things and are largely complementary.
The same companies, in both funds
These 8 holdings appear in both DIA and VUG. The weight columns show how much of each fund each name represents.
| Holding | in DIA | in VUG |
|---|---|---|
| MSFT Microsoft Corporation | 4.20% | 8.99% |
| GOOGL Alphabet Inc. | 4.03% | 5.95% |
| AAPL Apple Inc. | 3.21% | 12.32% |
| AMZN Amazon.com, Inc. | 2.73% | 4.85% |
| NVDA NVIDIA Corporation | 2.22% | 13.10% |
| V Visa Inc. | 3.89% | 1.45% |
| MCD McDonald's Corporation | 3.04% | 0.54% |
| BA The Boeing Company | 2.44% | 0.50% |
Only in DIA
SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF — US blue-chip (Dow 30). Its biggest holdings that VUG doesn’t have:
| CAT Caterpillar Inc. | 11.76% |
| GS The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. | 11.61% |
| UNH UnitedHealth Group Incorporated | 4.78% |
| AMGN Amgen Inc. | 4.10% |
| HD The Home Depot, Inc. | 3.99% |
| SHW The Sherwin-Williams Company | 3.92% |
| AXP American Express Company | 3.88% |
| TRV The Travelers Companies, Inc. | 3.78% |
Only in VUG
Vanguard Growth ETF — US large-cap growth. Its biggest holdings that DIA doesn’t have:
| AVGO Broadcom Inc. | 5.17% |
| GOOG Alphabet Inc. Class C | 4.68% |
| META Facebook Inc. Class A | 3.73% |
| TSLA Tesla Inc. | 3.31% |
| LLY Eli Lilly & Co. | 2.53% |
| AMD Advanced Micro Devices Inc. | 2.30% |
| COST Costco Wholesale Corp. | 1.15% |
| LRCX Lam Research Corp. | 1.09% |
So — mostly different. Should you hold both?
DIA and VUG have only a small shared core — they mostly hold different things and are largely complementary. Held together they genuinely broaden your exposure — a 50/50 blend reaches ~29 effective positions (grade C), because they hold largely different securities.
Holdings as of — DIA: Jun 29, 2026 (State Street Global Advisors); VUG: May 31, 2026 (Vanguard). Refreshed monthly. Overlap is measured across each fund’s largest holdings (top 50); the diffuse long tail barely moves the math.
See this for YOUR whole portfolio, free →DIA vs VUG — FAQ
- How much do DIA and VUG overlap?
- DIA and VUG overlap by approximately 21% measured by portfolio weight — that is the share of the smaller fund's holdings (by weight) that also sit inside the other. 3 of DIA's 10 largest holdings are also held by VUG. They share 8 of their listed top holdings in total.
- Is it redundant to hold both DIA and VUG?
- Because they have only a small shared core — they mostly hold different things and are largely complementary, holding both is not redundant — each fund covers largely different holdings, so together they broaden your exposure. A 50/50 blend has an effective 29 positions and a C diversification grade.
- What does VUG hold that DIA doesn't?
- VUG's largest holdings that DIA doesn't hold include AVGO, GOOG, META, TSLA, LLY. Its category is US large-cap growth, versus DIA's US blue-chip (Dow 30).
- Which is more concentrated, DIA or VUG?
- DIA's top 10 holdings are 59% of its listed weight; VUG's are 73%. The more concentrated fund leans harder on its largest names.