VBR vs VUG: how much do they really overlap?
VBR (Vanguard Small-Cap Value ETF, tracking the CRSP US Small Cap Value) and VUG (Vanguard Growth ETF, tracking the CRSP US Large Cap Growth) overlap by roughly 0% by weight. 0 of VBR's top 10 holdings also appear in VUG. A 50/50 blend of the two behaves like about 70 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 VUG. The weight columns show how much of each fund each name represents.
| Holding | in VBR | in VUG |
|---|
Only in VBR
Vanguard Small-Cap Value ETF — US small-cap value. Its biggest holdings that VUG 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 VUG
Vanguard Growth ETF — US large-cap growth. Its biggest holdings that VBR doesn’t have:
| NVDA NVIDIA Corp. | 13.10% |
| AAPL Apple Inc. | 12.32% |
| MSFT Microsoft Corp. | 8.99% |
| GOOGL Alphabet Inc. Class A | 5.95% |
| AVGO Broadcom Inc. | 5.17% |
| AMZN Amazon.com Inc. | 4.85% |
| GOOG Alphabet Inc. Class C | 4.68% |
| META Facebook Inc. Class A | 3.73% |
So — essentially different. Should you hold both?
VBR and VUG hold almost none of the same securities — they are complementary, not redundant. Held together they genuinely broaden your exposure — a 50/50 blend reaches ~70 effective positions (grade A), because they hold largely different securities.
Holdings as of — VBR: May 31, 2026 (Vanguard); VUG: 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 VUG — FAQ
- How much do VBR and VUG overlap?
- VBR and VUG 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 VUG. They share 0 of their listed top holdings in total.
- Is it redundant to hold both VBR and VUG?
- 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 70 positions and a A diversification grade.
- What does VUG hold that VBR doesn't?
- VUG's largest holdings that VBR doesn't hold include NVDA, AAPL, MSFT, GOOGL, AVGO. Its category is US large-cap growth, versus VBR's US small-cap value.
- Which is more concentrated, VBR or VUG?
- VBR's top 10 holdings are 30% of its listed weight; VUG's are 73%. The more concentrated fund leans harder on its largest names.