IWM vs VT: how much do they really overlap?
IWM (iShares Russell 2000 ETF, tracking the Russell 2000) and VT (Vanguard Total World Stock ETF, tracking the FTSE Global All Cap) overlap by roughly 0% by weight. 0 of IWM's top 10 holdings also appear in VT. A 50/50 blend of the two behaves like about 578 equally-weighted bets (diversification grade A). In short, the two funds hold almost none of the same securities — they are complementary, not redundant.
The same companies, in both funds
These 0 holdings appear in both IWM and VT. The weight columns show how much of each fund each name represents.
| Holding | in IWM | in VT |
|---|
Only in IWM
iShares Russell 2000 ETF — US small-cap. Its biggest holdings that VT doesn’t have:
| MOGA MOOG INC CLASS A | 0.38% |
| HUT HUT CORP | 0.37% |
| VSAT VIASAT INC | 0.35% |
| BTSG BRIGHTSPRING HEALTH SERVICES INC | 0.35% |
| CYTK CYTOKINETICS INC | 0.35% |
| MXL MAXLINEAR INC | 0.34% |
| AGX ARGAN INC | 0.34% |
| UMBF UMB FINANCIAL CORP | 0.33% |
Only in VT
Vanguard Total World Stock ETF — global all-cap. Its biggest holdings that IWM doesn’t have:
| NVDA NVIDIA Corp. | 4.17% |
| AAPL Apple Inc. | 3.79% |
| MSFT Microsoft Corp. | 2.82% |
| AMZN Amazon.com Inc. | 2.19% |
| GOOGL Alphabet Inc. Class A | 1.89% |
| AVGO Broadcom Inc. | 1.74% |
| 2330 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. | 1.52% |
| GOOG Alphabet Inc. Class C | 1.48% |
So — essentially different. Should you hold both?
IWM and VT hold almost none of the same securities — they are complementary, not redundant. Held together they genuinely broaden your exposure — a 50/50 blend reaches ~578 effective positions (grade A), because they hold largely different securities.
Holdings as of — IWM: Jun 30, 2026 (iShares (BlackRock)); VT: 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 →IWM vs VT — FAQ
- How much do IWM and VT overlap?
- IWM and VT overlap by approximately 0% measured by portfolio weight — that is the share of the smaller fund's holdings (by weight) that also sit inside the other. 0 of IWM's 10 largest holdings are also held by VT. They share 0 of their listed top holdings in total.
- Is it redundant to hold both IWM and VT?
- Because they hold almost none of the same securities — they are complementary, not redundant, holding both is not redundant — each fund covers largely different holdings, so together they broaden your exposure. A 50/50 blend has an effective 578 positions and a A diversification grade.
- What does VT hold that IWM doesn't?
- VT's largest holdings that IWM doesn't hold include NVDA, AAPL, MSFT, AMZN, GOOGL. Its category is global all-cap, versus IWM's US small-cap.
- Which is more concentrated, IWM or VT?
- IWM's top 10 holdings are 26% of its listed weight; VT's are 58%. The more concentrated fund leans harder on its largest names.