VNQ vs VO: how much do they really overlap?
VNQ (Vanguard Real Estate ETF, tracking the MSCI US IMI Real Estate 25/50) and VO (Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF, tracking the CRSP US Mid Cap) overlap by roughly 3% by weight. 2 of VNQ's top 10 holdings also appear in VO. A 50/50 blend of the two behaves like about 81 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 2 holdings appear in both VNQ and VO. The weight columns show how much of each fund each name represents.
| Holding | in VNQ | in VO |
|---|---|---|
| DLR Digital Realty Trust Inc. | 3.50% | 0.65% |
| O Realty Income Corp. | 3.04% | 0.57% |
Only in VNQ
Vanguard Real Estate ETF — US real estate. Its biggest holdings that VO doesn’t have:
| VRTPX Vanguard Real Estate II Index Fund Institutional Plus Shares | 14.54% |
| WELL Welltower Inc. | 7.68% |
| PLD Prologis Inc. | 7.17% |
| EQIX Equinix Inc. | 5.65% |
| AMT American Tower Corp. | 4.67% |
| SPG Simon Property Group Inc. | 3.57% |
| PSA Public Storage | 2.57% |
| VTR Ventas Inc. | 2.15% |
Only in VO
Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF — US mid-cap. Its biggest holdings that VNQ 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?
VNQ 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 ~81 effective positions (grade A), because they hold largely different securities.
Holdings as of — VNQ: 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 →VNQ vs VO — FAQ
- How much do VNQ and VO overlap?
- VNQ and VO overlap by approximately 3% measured by portfolio weight — that is the share of the smaller fund's holdings (by weight) that also sit inside the other. 2 of VNQ's 10 largest holdings are also held by VO. They share 2 of their listed top holdings in total.
- Is it redundant to hold both VNQ 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 81 positions and a A diversification grade.
- What does VO hold that VNQ doesn't?
- VO's largest holdings that VNQ doesn't hold include STX, WDC, VRT, PWR, HWM. Its category is US mid-cap, versus VNQ's US real estate.
- Which is more concentrated, VNQ or VO?
- VNQ's top 10 holdings are 62% of its listed weight; VO's are 31%. The more concentrated fund leans harder on its largest names.