VUG vs VWO: how much do they really overlap?
VUG (Vanguard Growth ETF, tracking the CRSP US Large Cap Growth) and VWO (Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF, tracking the FTSE Emerging Markets All Cap) overlap by roughly 0% by weight. 0 of VUG's top 10 holdings also appear in VWO. A 50/50 blend of the two behaves like about 50 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 VUG and VWO. The weight columns show how much of each fund each name represents.
| Holding | in VUG | in VWO |
|---|
Only in VUG
Vanguard Growth ETF — US large-cap growth. Its biggest holdings that VWO doesn’t have:
| NVDA NVIDIA Corp. | 13.10% |
| AAPL Apple Inc. | 12.32% |
| MSFT Microsoft Corp. | 8.99% |
| GOOGL Alphabet Inc. Class A | 5.95% |
| AVGO Broadcom Inc. | 5.17% |
| AMZN Amazon.com Inc. | 4.85% |
| GOOG Alphabet Inc. Class C | 4.68% |
| META Facebook Inc. Class A | 3.73% |
Only in VWO
Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF — emerging markets. Its biggest holdings that VUG 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?
VUG 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 ~50 effective positions (grade B), because they hold largely different securities.
Holdings as of — VUG: 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 →VUG vs VWO — FAQ
- How much do VUG and VWO overlap?
- VUG 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 VUG'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 VUG 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 50 positions and a B diversification grade.
- What does VWO hold that VUG doesn't?
- VWO's largest holdings that VUG doesn't hold include 2330, 700, 9988, 2454, 2308. Its category is emerging markets, versus VUG's US large-cap growth.
- Which is more concentrated, VUG or VWO?
- VUG's top 10 holdings are 73% of its listed weight; VWO's are 66%. The more concentrated fund leans harder on its largest names.