VEA vs VT: how much do they really overlap?
VEA (Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF, tracking the FTSE Developed All Cap ex US) and VT (Vanguard Total World Stock ETF, tracking the FTSE Global All Cap) overlap by roughly 9% by weight. 6 of VEA's top 10 holdings also appear in VT. A 50/50 blend of the two behaves like about 364 equally-weighted bets (diversification grade A). In short, the two funds have only a small shared core — they mostly hold different things and are largely complementary.
The same companies, in both funds
These 6 holdings appear in both VEA and VT. The weight columns show how much of each fund each name represents.
| Holding | in VEA | in VT |
|---|---|---|
| 005930 Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. | 2.99% | 0.83% |
| 000660 SK hynix Inc | 2.55% | 0.71% |
| ASML ASML Holding NV | 1.90% | 0.53% |
| HSBA HSBC Holdings plc | 0.98% | 0.27% |
| NOVN Novartis AG | 0.87% | 0.24% |
| AZN AstraZeneca plc | 0.84% | 0.23% |
Only in VEA
Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF — developed ex-US. Its biggest holdings that VT doesn’t have:
| ROP Roche Holding AG | 0.89% |
| RY Royal Bank of Canada | 0.81% |
| NESN Nestle SA | 0.79% |
| SHEL Shell plc | 0.73% |
| SIE Siemens AG | 0.70% |
| BHP BHP Group Ltd. | 0.66% |
| 8306 Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. | 0.62% |
| 7203 Toyota Motor Corp. | 0.61% |
Only in VT
Vanguard Total World Stock ETF — global all-cap. Its biggest holdings that VEA doesn’t have:
| NVDA NVIDIA Corp. | 4.17% |
| AAPL Apple Inc. | 3.79% |
| MSFT Microsoft Corp. | 2.82% |
| AMZN Amazon.com Inc. | 2.19% |
| GOOGL Alphabet Inc. Class A | 1.89% |
| AVGO Broadcom Inc. | 1.74% |
| 2330 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. | 1.52% |
| GOOG Alphabet Inc. Class C | 1.48% |
So — mostly different. Should you hold both?
VEA and VT have only a small shared core — they mostly hold different things and are largely complementary. Held together they genuinely broaden your exposure — a 50/50 blend reaches ~364 effective positions (grade A), because they hold largely different securities.
Holdings as of — VEA: May 31, 2026 (Vanguard); VT: 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 →VEA vs VT — FAQ
- How much do VEA and VT overlap?
- VEA and VT overlap by approximately 9% measured by portfolio weight — that is the share of the smaller fund's holdings (by weight) that also sit inside the other. 6 of VEA's 10 largest holdings are also held by VT. They share 6 of their listed top holdings in total.
- Is it redundant to hold both VEA and VT?
- Because they have only a small shared core — they mostly hold different things and are largely complementary, holding both is not redundant — each fund covers largely different holdings, so together they broaden your exposure. A 50/50 blend has an effective 364 positions and a A diversification grade.
- What does VT hold that VEA doesn't?
- VT's largest holdings that VEA doesn't hold include NVDA, AAPL, MSFT, AMZN, GOOGL. Its category is global all-cap, versus VEA's developed ex-US.
- Which is more concentrated, VEA or VT?
- VEA's top 10 holdings are 43% of its listed weight; VT's are 58%. The more concentrated fund leans harder on its largest names.