VNQ vs VWO: how much do they really overlap?
VNQ (Vanguard Real Estate ETF, tracking the MSCI US IMI Real Estate 25/50) and VWO (Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF, tracking the FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap) overlap by roughly 0% by weight. 0 of VNQ's top 10 holdings also appear in VWO. A 50/50 blend of the two behaves like about 57 equally-weighted bets (diversification grade B). 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 VNQ and VWO. The weight columns show how much of each fund each name represents.
| Holding | in VNQ | in VWO |
|---|
Only in VNQ
Vanguard Real Estate ETF — US real estate. Its biggest holdings that VWO 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% |
| DLR Digital Realty Trust Inc. | 3.50% |
| O Realty Income Corp. | 3.04% |
Only in VWO
Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF — emerging markets. Its biggest holdings that VNQ doesn’t have:
| 2330 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. | 14.64% |
| 700 Tencent Holdings Ltd. | 2.74% |
| 9988 Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. | 2.26% |
| 2454 MediaTek Inc. | 1.62% |
| 2308 Delta Electronics Inc. | 1.20% |
| 2317 Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd. | 0.90% |
| RELIANCE Reliance Industries Ltd. | 0.77% |
| 939 China Construction Bank Corp. Class H | 0.77% |
So — essentially different. Should you hold both?
VNQ and VWO hold almost none of the same securities — they are complementary, not redundant. Held together they genuinely broaden your exposure — a 50/50 blend reaches ~57 effective positions (grade B), because they hold largely different securities.
Holdings as of — VNQ: May 31, 2026 (Vanguard); VWO: 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 VWO — FAQ
- How much do VNQ and VWO overlap?
- VNQ and VWO 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 VNQ's 10 largest holdings are also held by VWO. They share 0 of their listed top holdings in total.
- Is it redundant to hold both VNQ and VWO?
- 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 57 positions and a B diversification grade.
- What does VWO hold that VNQ doesn't?
- VWO's largest holdings that VNQ doesn't hold include 2330, 700, 9988, 2454, 2308. Its category is emerging markets, versus VNQ's US real estate.
- Which is more concentrated, VNQ or VWO?
- VNQ's top 10 holdings are 62% of its listed weight; VWO's are 66%. The more concentrated fund leans harder on its largest names.