VBR vs VO: how much do they really overlap?
VBR (Vanguard Small-Cap Value ETF, tracking the CRSP US Small Cap Value) and VO (Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF, tracking the CRSP US Mid Cap) overlap by roughly 0% by weight. 0 of VBR's top 10 holdings also appear in VO. A 50/50 blend of the two behaves like about 990 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 VBR and VO. The weight columns show how much of each fund each name represents.
| Holding | in VBR | in VO |
|---|
Only in VBR
Vanguard Small-Cap Value ETF — US small-cap value. Its biggest holdings that VO doesn’t have:
| FLEX Flex Ltd. | 1.25% |
| JBL Jabil Inc. | 0.82% |
| TPR Tapestry Inc. | 0.66% |
| NRG NRG Energy Inc. | 0.64% |
| ATO Atmos Energy Corp. | 0.63% |
| UTHR United Therapeutics Corp. | 0.55% |
| WSM Williams-Sonoma Inc. | 0.55% |
| ILMN Illumina Inc. | 0.53% |
Only in VO
Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF — US mid-cap. Its biggest holdings that VBR doesn’t have:
| STX Seagate Technology Holdings plc | 1.90% |
| WDC Western Digital Corp. | 1.78% |
| VRT Vertiv Holdings Co. Class A | 1.18% |
| PWR Quanta Services Inc. | 1.06% |
| HWM Howmet Aerospace Inc. | 1.03% |
| MRVL Marvell Technology Inc. | 0.89% |
| CMI Cummins Inc. | 0.89% |
| CEG Constellation Energy Corp. | 0.88% |
So — essentially different. Should you hold both?
VBR and VO hold almost none of the same securities — they are complementary, not redundant. Held together they genuinely broaden your exposure — a 50/50 blend reaches ~990 effective positions (grade A), because they hold largely different securities.
Holdings as of — VBR: May 31, 2026 (Vanguard); VO: 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 →VBR vs VO — FAQ
- How much do VBR and VO overlap?
- VBR and VO 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 VBR's 10 largest holdings are also held by VO. They share 0 of their listed top holdings in total.
- Is it redundant to hold both VBR and VO?
- 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 990 positions and a A diversification grade.
- What does VO hold that VBR doesn't?
- VO's largest holdings that VBR doesn't hold include STX, WDC, VRT, PWR, HWM. Its category is US mid-cap, versus VBR's US small-cap value.
- Which is more concentrated, VBR or VO?
- VBR's top 10 holdings are 30% of its listed weight; VO's are 31%. The more concentrated fund leans harder on its largest names.