VNQ vs VXUS: how much do they really overlap?
VNQ (Vanguard Real Estate ETF, tracking the MSCI US IMI Real Estate 25/50) and VXUS (Vanguard Total International Stock ETF, tracking the FTSE Global All Cap ex US) overlap by roughly 0% by weight. 0 of VNQ's top 10 holdings also appear in VXUS. A 50/50 blend of the two behaves like about 82 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 VNQ and VXUS. The weight columns show how much of each fund each name represents.
| Holding | in VNQ | in VXUS |
|---|
Only in VNQ
Vanguard Real Estate ETF — US real estate. Its biggest holdings that VXUS 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 VXUS
Vanguard Total International Stock ETF — total ex-US. Its biggest holdings that VNQ doesn’t have:
| 2330 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. | 3.95% |
| 005930 Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. | 2.17% |
| 000660 SK hynix Inc | 1.85% |
| ASML ASML Holding NV | 1.38% |
| 700 Tencent Holdings Ltd. | 0.74% |
| HSBA HSBC Holdings plc | 0.71% |
| ROP Roche Holding AG | 0.65% |
| NOVN Novartis AG | 0.63% |
So — essentially different. Should you hold both?
VNQ and VXUS hold almost none of the same securities — they are complementary, not redundant. Held together they genuinely broaden your exposure — a 50/50 blend reaches ~82 effective positions (grade A), because they hold largely different securities.
Holdings as of — VNQ: May 31, 2026 (Vanguard); VXUS: 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 VXUS — FAQ
- How much do VNQ and VXUS overlap?
- VNQ and VXUS 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 VXUS. They share 0 of their listed top holdings in total.
- Is it redundant to hold both VNQ and VXUS?
- 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 82 positions and a A diversification grade.
- What does VXUS hold that VNQ doesn't?
- VXUS's largest holdings that VNQ doesn't hold include 2330, 005930, 000660, ASML, 700. Its category is total ex-US, versus VNQ's US real estate.
- Which is more concentrated, VNQ or VXUS?
- VNQ's top 10 holdings are 62% of its listed weight; VXUS's are 49%. The more concentrated fund leans harder on its largest names.