VB vs VBR: how much do they really overlap?
VB (Vanguard Small-Cap ETF, tracking the CRSP US Small Cap) and VBR (Vanguard Small-Cap Value ETF, tracking the CRSP US Small Cap Value) overlap by roughly 33% by weight. 3 of VB's top 10 holdings also appear in VBR. A 50/50 blend of the two behaves like about 1632 equally-weighted bets (diversification grade A). In short, the two funds share a meaningful core of the same megacaps, but each also brings real exposure the other lacks.
The same companies, in both funds
These 17 holdings appear in both VB and VBR. The weight columns show how much of each fund each name represents.
| Holding | in VB | in VBR |
|---|---|---|
| FLEX Flex Ltd. | 0.69% | 1.25% |
| JBL Jabil Inc. | 0.45% | 0.82% |
| EME EMCOR Group Inc. | 0.46% | 0.41% |
| TPR Tapestry Inc. | 0.37% | 0.66% |
| NRG NRG Energy Inc. | 0.35% | 0.64% |
| ATO Atmos Energy Corp. | 0.35% | 0.63% |
| UTHR United Therapeutics Corp. | 0.30% | 0.55% |
| WSM Williams-Sonoma Inc. | 0.30% | 0.55% |
| ILMN Illumina Inc. | 0.29% | 0.53% |
| OMC Omnicom Group Inc. | 0.28% | 0.51% |
| MKSI MKS Instruments Inc. | 0.27% | 0.49% |
| FFIV F5 Networks Inc. | 0.27% | 0.49% |
| AKAM Akamai Technologies Inc. | 0.27% | 0.49% |
| SW Smurfit Westrock plc | 0.27% | 0.48% |
| CHRW CH Robinson Worldwide Inc. | 0.26% | 0.48% |
+ 2 more shared holdings.
Only in VB
Vanguard Small-Cap ETF — US small-cap. Its biggest holdings that VBR doesn’t have:
| ALAB Astera Labs Inc. | 0.62% |
| CIEN Ciena Corp. | 0.51% |
| RKLB Rocket Lab Corp. | 0.50% |
| CRDO Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd. | 0.48% |
| BE Bloom Energy Corp. Class A | 0.47% |
| COHR Coherent Corp. | 0.42% |
| FIX Comfort Systems USA Inc. | 0.40% |
| RVMD Revolution Medicines Inc. | 0.39% |
Only in VBR
Vanguard Small-Cap Value ETF — US small-cap value. Its biggest holdings that VB doesn’t have:
| DD DuPont de Nemours Inc. | 0.45% |
| RS Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. | 0.44% |
| BG Bunge Global SA | 0.43% |
| SNX SYNNEX Corp. | 0.43% |
| VTRS Viatris Inc. | 0.42% |
| USFD US Foods Holding Corp. | 0.41% |
| STLD Steel Dynamics Inc. | 0.41% |
| WCC WESCO International Inc. | 0.40% |
So — partly overlapping. Should you hold both?
VB and VBR share a meaningful core of the same megacaps, but each also brings real exposure the other lacks. Held together they keep a shared megacap core but each still pulls in exposure the other lacks, so a 50/50 blend spreads to ~1632 effective positions (grade A).
Holdings as of — VB: May 31, 2026 (Vanguard); VBR: 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 →VB vs VBR — FAQ
- How much do VB and VBR overlap?
- VB and VBR overlap by approximately 33% measured by portfolio weight — that is the share of the smaller fund's holdings (by weight) that also sit inside the other. 3 of VB's 10 largest holdings are also held by VBR. They share 17 of their listed top holdings in total.
- Is it redundant to hold both VB and VBR?
- Because they share a meaningful core of the same megacaps, but each also brings real exposure the other lacks, holding both is partly redundant: you double up on a shared core (FLEX) while each fund still adds distinct exposure. A 50/50 blend has an effective 1632 positions and a A diversification grade.
- What does VBR hold that VB doesn't?
- VBR's largest holdings that VB doesn't hold include DD, RS, BG, SNX, VTRS. Its category is US small-cap value, versus VB's US small-cap.
- Which is more concentrated, VB or VBR?
- VB's top 10 holdings are 29% of its listed weight; VBR's are 30%. The more concentrated fund leans harder on its largest names.