Over the trailing five-year window, VT and VTI moved almost in lockstep (daily-return correlation 0.97), so holding both adds little diversification.
VTI delivered the higher five-year annualized total return (12.2% vs 10.1% for VT), though it is only one window and says nothing about the future.
VTI was the more volatile of the two (17.6% vs 16.3% annualized).
On cost, VTI is cheaper — 0.03% versus 0.06% for VT.
The numbers, side by side
Per-fund metrics. Returns are total return (dividends reinvested, net of fees); volatility, drawdown and correlation are computed from daily closing prices over the trailing five-year window ending Aug 7, 2026.
| Metric | VT | VTI |
|---|---|---|
| 5-yr annualized returntotal return, incl. dividends & fees | 10.1% | 12.2% |
| 5-yr annualized volatilitystandard deviation of daily returns | 16.3% | 17.6% |
| Max drawdown (5-yr window)worst peak-to-trough decline | -28.0% | -26.2% |
| Return per unit of riskSharpe-style, 4.7% risk-free | 0.33 | 0.43 |
| Expense ratioannual fund cost | 0.06% | 0.03% |
How similar are they?
| Relationship metric | VT & VTI |
|---|---|
| Correlation of daily returns5-yr; 1.00 = moves identically | 0.97 |
| Sector overlapΣ min(weight) across sectors | 91.6% |
Where each fund is concentrated
VT — top sectors
- Technology31.18%
- Financial Services15.72%
- Industrials11.74%
VTI — top sectors
- Technology36.07%
- Financial Services11.76%
- Industrials10.15%
Go deeper
For the full write-up, read VTI vs VOO vs VXUS: Building a Simple Three-Fund Portfolio.
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Get your free analysisFigures computed by MinMaxDoc from historical market data as of Aug 7, 2026; they will drift as markets move.