Wealthy PotFTIHX vs VXUS: Two Indexes, One Market, a Tenth of a Point Apart
FTIHX is Fidelity's total international index mutual fund. VXUS is Vanguard's total international ETF. Both own large, mid and small companies across developed and emerging markets outside the US, and their portfolios overlap by 93.1%. They follow different index providers, MSCI for Fidelity and FTSE for Vanguard, but over the ten years to 30 September 2026 their returns were a tenth of a point apart: 9.10% a year for FTIHX, 9.20% for VXUS. The fees are 0.06% and 0.05%. Neither fund is better in any way that matters. Choose by account: FTIHX if you invest at Fidelity and want automatic dollar-amount investing in a mutual fund, VXUS if you want an ETF that any broker will hold.
Table of Contents
The Short Answer
- Overlap: 93.1%. Matched on both funds' SEC filings for the same date, 31 July 2026. 96.0% of FTIHX's money is in companies VXUS also holds.
- Fees: 0.06% vs 0.05%. That is $6 against $5 a year on $10,000. Over ten years the prospectus cost examples come to $77 and $64.
- No short-term trading fee on FTIHX. Its prospectus lists shareholder fees as "None." What it has instead is a trading rule: selling within 30 days of buying counts as a "roundtrip," and two roundtrips in 90 days block new purchases for 85 days.
- Returns to 30 September 2026: one year 18.83% vs 18.49%, ten years 9.10% vs 9.20%. The lead flips with the window.
- Holdings: about 5,000 vs about 8,800. FTIHX samples its index; VXUS uses full replication. Both cover the same market.
- The real choice is the wrapper. FTIHX is a mutual fund priced once a day, with no minimum. VXUS is an ETF that trades all day at any broker.
93% the Same Portfolio
For once, both funds' SEC portfolio reports cover the same date, 31 July 2026. Matching them security by security in our Portfolio Overlap Checker gives this result:
| Measure, 31 July 2026 | Result |
|---|---|
| FTIHX holdings in the filing | 4,998 |
| VXUS holdings in the filing | 8,674 |
| Shared holdings | 4,695 |
| Overlap (sum of the smaller weight of each shared holding) | 93.1% |
| Share of FTIHX's weight also in VXUS | 96.0% |
| Share of VXUS's weight also in FTIHX | 95.2% |
The largest holdings match almost to the hundredth: Taiwan Semiconductor at 4.20% in FTIHX and 4.11% in VXUS, Samsung Electronics 1.86% and 1.83%, ASML 1.47% and 1.45%, SK hynix 1.43% in both, Tencent 0.87% in both. VXUS's extra 3,700 holdings are small companies, each with a tiny weight. Together they add only a few percent.
FTIHX vs VXUS Side by Side
| FTIHX | VXUS | |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Fidelity Total International Index Fund | Vanguard Total International Stock ETF |
| Structure | Mutual fund | ETF share class of a Vanguard mutual fund |
| Index | MSCI ACWI ex USA Investable Market Index | FTSE Global All Cap ex US Index |
| Coverage | Large, mid and small caps; developed and emerging | Large, mid and small caps; developed and emerging |
| Expense ratio | 0.06% | 0.05% |
| Prospectus cost on $10,000, 10 years | $77 | $64 |
| Short-term trading or redemption fee | None (roundtrip-limit policy instead) | None from the fund (broker commissions may apply) |
| Minimum | None | None set by the fund; trades in shares, or fractional shares where the broker offers them |
| Indexing method | Statistical sampling | Replication |
| Holdings | 5,080 (31 Oct 2025) | 8,790 (31 Aug 2026) |
| Turnover | 4% | 4% |
| Assets | $25.3bn (31 Jul 2026) | Whole fund $665.7bn; ETF class $163.2bn (31 Aug 2026) |
| Inception | 7 Jun 2016 | 26 Jan 2011 |
| Pricing | Once a day at NAV | All day at market price |
MSCI vs FTSE: Different Rulebooks, Same Market
FTIHX's prospectus describes its index as measuring "large, mid, and small-cap stocks in developed and emerging markets, excluding the U.S." VXUS's prospectus describes its index as covering "companies located in developed and emerging markets, excluding the United States," weighted by market value. Same target, different providers.
The providers do not always classify countries the same way. The best-known case is South Korea. You can see it in the SEC holdings filings: iShares' MSCI emerging-markets fund (IEMG) holds Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, while Vanguard's FTSE emerging-markets fund (VWO) holds neither, and FTSE-based developed-markets funds such as VEA and SCHF hold both. In other words, MSCI files Korea under emerging and FTSE files it under developed. For a total international fund that does not matter, because both indexes include developed and emerging markets alike. Korean stocks are in both funds at nearly the same weight: SK hynix was 1.43% of each in July 2026. The classification only matters when a fund holds one group and not the other, as in SCHF vs VXUS or FSPSX vs FTIHX.
The other difference is method. VXUS "uses the replication method of indexing," holding nearly every stock in its index. FTIHX uses "statistical sampling techniques," holding a representative subset. That is why it shows about 5,000 holdings to VXUS's 8,800. Sampling has not cost FTIHX much. In each calendar year from 2019 to 2025, Fidelity's own figures put it within 0.42 percentage points of its index, sometimes ahead and sometimes behind.
Returns: Too Close to Call
| Average annual, to 30 Sep 2026 | 1 year | 3 years | 5 years | 10 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FTIHX | 18.83% | 20.27% | 9.31% | 9.10% |
| VXUS, NAV | 18.49% | 20.15% | 9.35% | 9.20% |
| FTIHX minus VXUS | +0.34 | +0.12 | -0.04 | -0.10 |
Two more matched comparisons, both from the funds' own documents:
| Period | FTIHX | VXUS (NAV) |
|---|---|---|
| Calendar year 2025 | 32.62% | 32.23% |
| Fiscal year to 31 Oct 2025, 1 year | 25.15% | 24.83% |
| Fiscal year to 31 Oct 2025, 5 years (annualized) | 11.14% | 11.27% |
The pattern is the same everywhere: FTIHX ahead over one year, VXUS ahead over five and ten, and never by more than about a third of a point. Differences that small come from index construction and timing, and they change direction. They are not a reason to pick one fund. Past performance does not predict future results.
Mutual Fund vs ETF: The Real Difference
- How you buy. FTIHX's prospectus says you buy "through a Fidelity brokerage or mutual fund account, through a retirement account, or through an investment professional," at "the NAV next calculated" after your order. VXUS trades on Nasdaq all day at market prices, through any brokerage.
- Dollar amounts. FTIHX has "no minimum balance or purchase minimum," and you buy in dollars, so automatic monthly investing of an exact amount is simple. With VXUS, the fund itself sets no minimum, but whether you can buy fractional shares depends on your broker.
- Trading limits. FTIHX does not charge a short-term redemption fee. Fidelity's excessive-trading policy blocks you from buying more for 85 days after two roundtrips (a sale within 30 days of a purchase) in a rolling 90-day period. Regular automatic contributions and withdrawals are exempt. VXUS has no such policy because you trade it with other investors on the exchange.
- Moving brokers. VXUS is an ordinary listed ETF that transfers between brokerages like any stock. FTIHX is a Fidelity fund. Other brokerages may let you hold or buy it, but their fees and availability are their own policy, so check before you move.
- Foreign tax credit. Both funds pay foreign withholding tax and pass it through. In fiscal 2025 FTIHX had $34.6 million withheld on $484 million of income, and it reported the foreign taxes per share for shareholders' returns. Vanguard designated $1.22 billion of foreign taxes paid for VXUS. In a taxable account, IRS Publication 514 lets you claim your share as a credit. We explain how in VOO vs VXUS.
If you are at Vanguard and want a mutual fund rather than the ETF, VXUS's own Admiral share class is covered in VTIAX vs VXUS. If you are at Fidelity and want the lowest fee, Fidelity's zero-fee international fund is compared in FTIHX vs FZILX and FZILX vs VXUS.
Which One Fits You
Your account is at Fidelity and you invest a fixed amount each month: FTIHX. No minimum, buy in exact dollars, schedule automatic purchases. The extra 0.01% costs $1 a year per $10,000.
Your account is anywhere else, or you might move it: VXUS. An ETF goes wherever your money goes, and it is the cheaper of the two.
401(k) or other workplace plan: use whichever total international option your plan offers. If it is FTIHX, you are not missing anything by not having VXUS.
Taxable account: both funds pass through foreign taxes for the credit, and both reported 4% portfolio turnover, so neither trades much. Turnover is not the only source of capital gains distributions, so check each fund's distribution history if this matters to you.
Already own one? Do not sell it to buy the other in a taxable account. A 93% overlap and returns within a tenth of a point over ten years do not justify realizing a gain. Send new money wherever is most convenient.
Do not hold both unless they sit in different accounts for practical reasons. Two funds with 93% overlap give you nothing extra except more to keep track of.
This is educational information, not personalized investment advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results, and all investing carries the risk of loss.
Sources & Methodology
- FTIHX summary prospectus, 30 December 2025: objective, fee table showing no shareholder fees, cost example, index, sampling method, turnover, minimum, how to buy.
- Fidelity Salem Street Trust Form 485BPOS, FTIHX prospectus dated 30 December 2025: the excessive-trading (roundtrip) policy and eligibility.
- Fidelity Salem Street Trust Form N-CSR, year ended 31 October 2025: FTIHX annual returns, holdings count, fund size, foreign taxes withheld and the per-share foreign tax figures.
- FTIHX Form N-PORT, 31 July 2026: net assets and holdings.
- Fidelity FTIHX performance page: returns to 30 September 2026 and calendar-year returns against the index.
- VXUS summary prospectus, 27 February 2026, the Vanguard STAR Funds Form N-CSR for the year ended 31 October 2025 and the Vanguard VXUS profile page: fee, index, replication, returns, holdings and foreign taxes.
- IRS Publication 514 (2025): the foreign tax credit for fund shareholders.
How the overlap was computed. Our Portfolio Overlap Checker reads both funds' Form N-PORT holdings for the period ended 31 July 2026 and adds up the smaller of the two weights for every holding they share.
What we did not verify. Whether, and at what cost, brokerages other than Fidelity let you buy FTIHX is set by each broker, and we have not surveyed them. The MSCI and FTSE treatment of Korea is inferred from what MSCI- and FTSE-based funds hold in their SEC filings (IEMG at 31 May 2026, VWO at 31 July 2026, VEA at 30 June 2026), not from the index providers' own classification documents, whose websites did not return readable content.
This article is for general education and is not investment, tax or legal advice. Fund data changes daily, and past performance does not guarantee future results. International investing carries currency and political risks. Figures were checked against the sources above on 4 October 2026; confirm current figures with Fidelity and Vanguard before acting.
FAQ: FTIHX vs VXUS
Is FTIHX the same as VXUS?
Nearly. Both are total international index funds covering developed and emerging markets, large to small caps. They follow different indexes, MSCI ACWI ex USA IMI and FTSE Global All Cap ex US, but their portfolios overlapped by 93.1% at 31 July 2026, and their ten-year returns to 30 September 2026 were 9.10% and 9.20% a year.
Which is cheaper, FTIHX or VXUS?
VXUS, by a hundredth of a percentage point: 0.05% against 0.06%. On $10,000 that is $5 against $6 a year, or $64 against $77 over ten years in the prospectus cost examples.
Does FTIHX have a short-term trading fee?
No. Its summary prospectus lists shareholder fees as "None." Fidelity instead limits frequent trading: two roundtrips (a sale within 30 days of a purchase) in a rolling 90-day period block new purchases of the fund for 85 days.
Can I buy FTIHX outside Fidelity?
The prospectus lists Fidelity accounts, retirement accounts and investment professionals as the ways to buy. Some other brokerages may offer it, on their own terms. VXUS is an ETF and trades at any broker.
Should I hold FTIHX and VXUS together?
No need. With 93.1% overlap, owning both duplicates the same portfolio. If you have accounts at both Fidelity and another broker, using FTIHX in one and VXUS in the other is fine. Just count them together as your international allocation.
Why does VXUS hold so many more stocks?
VXUS uses replication, holding nearly every stock in its index: about 8,800. FTIHX uses statistical sampling, holding about 5,000 chosen to behave like its index. The extra stocks are mostly very small companies with tiny weights.
Which is better in a taxable account?
Neither has a clear edge on the evidence in their filings. Both pass foreign taxes through for the foreign tax credit, and both reported 4% turnover. Check each fund's recent capital gains distributions before buying in a taxable account.
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"FTIHX vs VXUS: Two Indexes, One Market, a Tenth of a Point Apart." Wealthy Pot, 2026. https://wealthypot.com/ftihx-vs-vxus/
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