IWM vs VTI: how much do they really overlap?
IWM (iShares Russell 2000 ETF, tracking the Russell 2000) and VTI (Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF, tracking the CRSP US Total Market) overlap by roughly 0% by weight. 0 of IWM's top 10 holdings also appear in VTI. A 50/50 blend of the two behaves like about 272 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 VTI. The weight columns show how much of each fund each name represents.
| Holding | in IWM | in VTI |
|---|
Only in IWM
iShares Russell 2000 ETF — US small-cap. Its biggest holdings that VTI doesn’t have:
| XTSLA BLK CSH FND TREASURY SL AGENCY | 0.46% |
| MOGA MOOG INC CLASS A | 0.39% |
| BTSG BRIGHTSPRING HEALTH SERVICES INC | 0.38% |
| HUT HUT CORP | 0.36% |
| UMBF UMB FINANCIAL CORP | 0.35% |
| CYTK CYTOKINETICS INC | 0.34% |
| VSAT VIASAT INC | 0.32% |
| GKOS GLAUKOS CORP | 0.31% |
Only in VTI
Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF — total US market. Its biggest holdings that IWM doesn’t have:
| NVDA NVIDIA Corp. | 6.32% |
| AAPL Apple Inc. | 5.84% |
| MSFT Microsoft Corp. | 3.81% |
| AMZN Amazon.com Inc. | 3.17% |
| GOOGL Alphabet Inc. Class A | 2.88% |
| AVGO Broadcom Inc. | 2.46% |
| GOOG Alphabet Inc. Class C | 2.27% |
| MU Micron Technology Inc. | 1.79% |
So — essentially different. Should you hold both?
IWM and VTI hold almost none of the same securities — they are complementary, not redundant. Held together they genuinely broaden your exposure — a 50/50 blend reaches ~272 effective positions (grade A), because they hold largely different securities.
Holdings as of — IWM: Jul 30, 2026 (iShares (BlackRock)); VTI: Jun 30, 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 VTI — FAQ
- How much do IWM and VTI overlap?
- IWM and VTI 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 VTI. They share 0 of their listed top holdings in total.
- Is it redundant to hold both IWM and VTI?
- 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 272 positions and a A diversification grade.
- What does VTI hold that IWM doesn't?
- VTI's largest holdings that IWM doesn't hold include NVDA, AAPL, MSFT, AMZN, GOOGL. Its category is total US market, versus IWM's US small-cap.
- Which is more concentrated, IWM or VTI?
- IWM's top 10 holdings are 26% of its listed weight; VTI's are 58%. The more concentrated fund leans harder on its largest names.