VB vs VEA: how much do they really overlap?
VB (Vanguard Small-Cap ETF, tracking the CRSP US Small Cap) and VEA (Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF, tracking the FTSE Developed All Cap ex US) overlap by roughly 0% by weight. 0 of VB's top 10 holdings also appear in VEA. A 50/50 blend of the two behaves like about 1029 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 VB and VEA. The weight columns show how much of each fund each name represents.
| Holding | in VB | in VEA |
|---|
Only in VB
Vanguard Small-Cap ETF — US small-cap. Its biggest holdings that VEA doesn’t have:
| FLEX Flex Ltd. | 0.69% |
| 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% |
| EME EMCOR Group Inc. | 0.46% |
| JBL Jabil Inc. | 0.45% |
Only in VEA
Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF — developed ex-US. Its biggest holdings that VB doesn’t have:
| 005930 Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. | 2.99% |
| 000660 SK hynix Inc | 2.55% |
| ASML ASML Holding NV | 1.90% |
| HSBA HSBC Holdings plc | 0.98% |
| ROP Roche Holding AG | 0.89% |
| NOVN Novartis AG | 0.87% |
| AZN AstraZeneca plc | 0.84% |
| RY Royal Bank of Canada | 0.81% |
So — essentially different. Should you hold both?
VB and VEA hold almost none of the same securities — they are complementary, not redundant. Held together they genuinely broaden your exposure — a 50/50 blend reaches ~1029 effective positions (grade A), because they hold largely different securities.
Holdings as of — VB: May 31, 2026 (Vanguard); VEA: 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 VEA — FAQ
- How much do VB and VEA overlap?
- VB and VEA 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 VB's 10 largest holdings are also held by VEA. They share 0 of their listed top holdings in total.
- Is it redundant to hold both VB and VEA?
- 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 1029 positions and a A diversification grade.
- What does VEA hold that VB doesn't?
- VEA's largest holdings that VB doesn't hold include 005930, 000660, ASML, HSBA, ROP. Its category is developed ex-US, versus VB's US small-cap.
- Which is more concentrated, VB or VEA?
- VB's top 10 holdings are 29% of its listed weight; VEA's are 43%. The more concentrated fund leans harder on its largest names.