VTI vs VUG: how much do they really overlap?
VTI (Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF, tracking the CRSP US Total Market) and VUG (Vanguard Growth ETF, tracking the CRSP US Large Cap Growth) overlap by roughly 75% by weight. 9 of VTI's top 10 holdings also appear in VUG. A 50/50 blend of the two behaves like about 30 equally-weighted bets (diversification grade B). In short, the two funds share most of their weight in the same names; the second fund adds only modest differentiation.
The same companies, in both funds
These 25 holdings appear in both VTI and VUG. The weight columns show how much of each fund each name represents.
| Holding | in VTI | in VUG |
|---|---|---|
| NVDA NVIDIA Corp. | 6.70% | 13.10% |
| AAPL Apple Inc. | 6.30% | 12.32% |
| MSFT Microsoft Corp. | 4.60% | 8.99% |
| AMZN Amazon.com Inc. | 3.60% | 4.85% |
| GOOGL Alphabet Inc. Class A | 3.05% | 5.95% |
| AVGO Broadcom Inc. | 2.91% | 5.17% |
| GOOG Alphabet Inc. Class C | 2.39% | 4.68% |
| META Facebook Inc. Class A | 1.90% | 3.73% |
| TSLA Tesla Inc. | 1.69% | 3.31% |
| LLY Eli Lilly & Co. | 1.29% | 2.53% |
| AMD Advanced Micro Devices Inc. | 1.16% | 2.30% |
| V Visa Inc. Class A | 0.74% | 1.45% |
| COST Costco Wholesale Corp. | 0.58% | 1.15% |
| LRCX Lam Research Corp. | 0.55% | 1.09% |
| MA Mastercard Inc. Class A | 0.54% | 1.07% |
+ 10 more shared holdings.
Only in VTI
Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF — total US market. Its biggest holdings that VUG doesn’t have:
| MU Micron Technology Inc. | 1.50% |
| BRK.B Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Class B | 1.17% |
| JPM JPMorgan Chase & Co. | 1.04% |
| XOM Exxon Mobil Corp. | 0.83% |
| JNJ Johnson & Johnson | 0.75% |
| WMT Walmart Inc. | 0.70% |
| INTC Intel Corp. | 0.63% |
| CSCO Cisco Systems Inc./Delaware | 0.59% |
Only in VUG
Vanguard Growth ETF — US large-cap growth. Its biggest holdings that VTI doesn’t have:
| STX Seagate Technology Holdings plc | 0.55% |
| MCD McDonald's Corp. | 0.54% |
| MRVL Marvell Technology Inc. | 0.51% |
| APH Amphenol Corp. Class A | 0.51% |
| BA Boeing Co. | 0.50% |
| CRWD Crowdstrike Holdings Inc. Class A | 0.49% |
| TJX TJX Cos. Inc. | 0.48% |
| ANET Arista Networks Inc. | 0.47% |
So — heavily overlapping. Should you hold both?
VTI and VUG share most of their weight in the same names; the second fund adds only modest differentiation. If you already hold VTI, adding VUG mostly increases your bet on the names they share rather than spreading it — a 50/50 blend still behaves like only ~30 equal positions, with the top 10 alone at 50% and the Magnificent Seven at 44%.
Holdings as of — VTI: May 31, 2026 (Vanguard); VUG: 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 →VTI vs VUG — FAQ
- How much do VTI and VUG overlap?
- VTI and VUG overlap by approximately 75% measured by portfolio weight — that is the share of the smaller fund's holdings (by weight) that also sit inside the other. 9 of VTI's 10 largest holdings are also held by VUG. They share 25 of their listed top holdings in total.
- Is it redundant to hold both VTI and VUG?
- Because they share most of their weight in the same names; the second fund adds only modest differentiation, holding both is largely redundant — you mostly duplicate the same megacaps and concentrate rather than diversify. A 50/50 blend has an effective 30 positions and a B diversification grade.
- What does VUG hold that VTI doesn't?
- VUG's largest holdings that VTI doesn't hold include STX, MCD, MRVL, APH, BA. Its category is US large-cap growth, versus VTI's total US market.
- Which is more concentrated, VTI or VUG?
- VTI's top 10 holdings are 61% of its listed weight; VUG's are 73%. The more concentrated fund leans harder on its largest names.