VT vs VXUS: how much do they really overlap?
VT (Vanguard Total World Stock ETF, tracking the FTSE Global All Cap) and VXUS (Vanguard Total International Stock ETF, tracking the FTSE Global All Cap ex US) overlap by roughly 19% by weight. 1 of VT's top 10 holdings also appear in VXUS. A 50/50 blend of the two behaves like about 324 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 9 holdings appear in both VT and VXUS. The weight columns show how much of each fund each name represents.
| Holding | in VT | in VXUS |
|---|---|---|
| 2330 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. | 1.64% | 4.22% |
| 005930 Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. | 0.88% | 2.26% |
| 000660 SK hynix Inc. | 0.84% | 2.16% |
| ASML ASML Holding NV | 0.65% | 1.68% |
| 700 Tencent Holdings Ltd. | 0.29% | 0.76% |
| HSBA HSBC Holdings plc | 0.28% | 0.71% |
| NOVN Novartis AG | 0.25% | 0.64% |
| RY Royal Bank of Canada | 0.25% | 0.64% |
| AZN AstraZeneca plc | 0.24% | 0.62% |
Only in VT
Vanguard Total World Stock ETF — global all-cap. Its biggest holdings that VXUS doesn’t have:
| NVDA NVIDIA Corp. | 3.99% |
| AAPL Apple Inc. | 3.57% |
| MSFT Microsoft Corp. | 2.37% |
| AMZN Amazon.com Inc. | 1.97% |
| GOOGL Alphabet Inc. Class A | 1.80% |
| AVGO Broadcom Inc. | 1.50% |
| GOOG Alphabet Inc. Class C | 1.41% |
| MU Micron Technology Inc. | 1.11% |
Only in VXUS
Vanguard Total International Stock ETF — total ex-US. Its biggest holdings that VT doesn’t have:
| ROP Roche Holding AG | 0.64% |
| NESN Nestle SA | 0.58% |
| SIE Siemens AG | 0.52% |
| 9988 Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. | 0.48% |
| SHEL Shell plc | 0.48% |
| 8306 Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. | 0.48% |
| 8035 Tokyo Electron Ltd. | 0.47% |
| TD Toronto-Dominion Bank | 0.45% |
So — mostly different. Should you hold both?
VT and VXUS 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 ~324 effective positions (grade A), because they hold largely different securities.
Holdings as of — VT: Jun 30, 2026 (Vanguard); VXUS: Jun 30, 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 →VT vs VXUS — FAQ
- How much do VT and VXUS overlap?
- VT and VXUS overlap by approximately 19% measured by portfolio weight — that is the share of the smaller fund's holdings (by weight) that also sit inside the other. 1 of VT's 10 largest holdings are also held by VXUS. They share 9 of their listed top holdings in total.
- Is it redundant to hold both VT and VXUS?
- 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 324 positions and a A diversification grade.
- What does VXUS hold that VT doesn't?
- VXUS's largest holdings that VT doesn't hold include ROP, NESN, SIE, 9988, SHEL. Its category is total ex-US, versus VT's global all-cap.
- Which is more concentrated, VT or VXUS?
- VT's top 10 holdings are 55% of its listed weight; VXUS's are 50%. The more concentrated fund leans harder on its largest names.