Wealthy PotVIG vs VTI: Dividend Growers or the Whole US Market?
VIG is a filtered subset of VTI: 99.6% of its weight sits in stocks VTI also owns, by our calculation from the two funds' latest SEC holdings filings. Those shared stocks are 39.8% of VTI. VIG keeps US companies that have raised their dividend every year for at least ten years, drops the highest-yielding quarter of them, and so ends up owning Apple, Microsoft and Broadcom but not Nvidia, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta or Tesla. It costs 0.04% against 0.03%, yields 1.51% against 1.03%, and over the ten years to 30 June 2026 returned 1.91 percentage points a year less than VTI, with noticeably smaller swings. VTI is the core. VIG is a quality-and-dividend tilt.
Table of Contents
The Short Answer
- Overlap: 99.6% one way, 39.8% the other. Practically all of VIG is VTI stocks, and those stocks are about two-fifths of VTI. That is our calculation from SEC holdings filings for 31 July 2026 (VIG) and 30 June 2026 (VTI).
- Fees: VTI 0.03%, VIG 0.04%. On $10,000 over ten years the prospectus examples come to $39 and $51.
- VIG pays a bit more income. 30-day SEC yield on 30 September 2026: VIG 1.51%, VTI 1.03%.
- VTI has the better record. Ten years to 30 June 2026 at NAV: VTI 15.04% a year, VIG 13.13%. VTI also led over one, three and five years, on both 30 June and 30 September.
- VIG has been the smoother ride. Three-year standard deviation of 10.68% against 13.45%, and a worst prospectus quarter of -16.79% against -20.89%, both in early 2020.
- Owning both is a weighting choice. VIG adds almost no company VTI lacks; it raises your weight in banks, health care and steady dividend raisers.
How Much of VTI Is Already VIG
We matched the two funds' Form N-PORT holdings reports, using the same data as our Portfolio Overlap Checker. The filings are a month apart: VIG's is for 31 July 2026 and VTI's for 30 June 2026.
| Overlap measure | Result |
|---|---|
| VIG holdings also held by VTI | 328 of 330 |
| Share of VIG's weight in stocks VTI also owns | 99.6% |
| Share of VTI's weight in stocks VIG also owns | 39.8% |
| Overlap (sum of the smaller weight in each shared stock) | 38.3% |
The overlap figure (38.3%) is a little below the 39.8% because a few stocks, Apple among them, carry less weight in VIG than in VTI. Most shared names are heavier in VIG:
| Stock | Weight in VIG | Weight in VTI |
|---|---|---|
| Broadcom | 4.63% | 2.47% |
| Apple | 4.45% | 5.87% |
| Microsoft | 4.34% | 3.83% |
| JPMorgan Chase | 4.07% | 1.12% |
| Eli Lilly | 3.93% | 1.40% |
| Exxon Mobil | 2.78% | 0.78% |
| Johnson & Johnson | 2.67% | 0.84% |
| Visa | 2.45% | 0.77% |
| Walmart | 2.11% | 0.69% |
What VTI owns and VIG does not is about 60% of VTI. The largest pieces: Nvidia (6.36% of VTI), Alphabet (5.18%), Amazon (3.19%), Micron (1.80%), Meta (1.71%), Tesla (1.64%), AMD (1.31%) and Berkshire Hathaway (1.28%). None of them appears in VIG's July 2026 filing, and neither do thousands of smaller companies.
What VIG's Screen Keeps and Drops
VIG's summary prospectus describes its index as "a modified market capitalization-weighted index which consists of common stocks of U.S. companies that have a record of increasing their dividends over time (excluding real estate trusts ('REITs'))." The statutory prospectus spells out the two rules that matter:
- Companies must have "followed a policy of consistently increasing dividends every year for at least 10 consecutive years."
- "The index excludes the top 25% of highest-yielding eligible companies from the index."
Those two rules explain the holdings. The ten-year rule drops companies that pay no dividend or started recently, which removes much of the high-growth technology end of the market. The yield cap drops the highest payers, so VIG is not a high-income fund: its 1.51% SEC yield sits well below VYM's 2.35% (see VIG vs VYM). VTI applies no screen; its index "represents 100% of the investable U.S. stock market."
The two fact sheets classify sectors on different schemes (GICS for VIG, the Industry Classification Benchmark for VTI), so we do not subtract one from the other. On its own scheme, VIG on 30 June 2026 was 26.3% information technology, 20.7% financials, 17.7% health care and 12.0% industrials, with 0.0% communication services and 0.0% real estate. VTI on its scheme was 41.0% technology and 10.0% financials.
VIG vs VTI Side by Side
| VIG | VTI | |
|---|---|---|
| Current name | Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF | Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF |
| Index | S&P U.S. Dividend Growers Index | Morningstar US Total Market Index |
| Expense ratio | 0.04% | 0.03% |
| Prospectus cost of $10,000 over 10 years | $51 | $39 |
| Number of stocks | 332 | 3,531 |
| Top 10 holdings, % of assets | 31.9% | 33.4% |
| Median market cap | $349.7B | $336.5B |
| Price/earnings ratio | 26.6x | 27.0x |
| Price/book ratio | 5.2x | 4.9x |
| 3-year standard deviation | 10.68% | 13.45% |
| 30-day SEC yield (30 Sep 2026) | 1.51% | 1.03% |
| Portfolio turnover, latest fiscal year | 8% | 3% |
| ETF share class net assets | $110.2 billion | $663.5 billion |
| Inception | 21 April 2006 | 24 May 2001 |
Two rows surprise people. VIG is not a cheap "value" fund: its price/earnings and price/book ratios are close to VTI's, because its screen selects on dividend history, not on low prices. And its median market cap ($349.7 billion) is about the same as VTI's ($336.5 billion), even though VIG owns none of the thousands of small companies in VTI.
Returns and the Smoother Ride
| Average annual return at NAV | 1 year | 3 years | 5 years | 10 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VIG, to 30 Jun 2026 | 17.53% | 15.41% | 10.90% | 13.13% |
| VTI, to 30 Jun 2026 | 23.16% | 20.43% | 12.24% | 15.04% |
| VIG minus VTI | -5.63 | -5.02 | -1.34 | -1.91 |
| VIG, to 30 Sep 2026 | 9.77% | 16.51% | 10.72% | 12.86% |
| VTI, to 30 Sep 2026 | 15.33% | 22.32% | 12.56% | 14.70% |
| VIG minus VTI | -5.56 | -5.81 | -1.84 | -1.84 |
VTI won at every horizon on both dates. The gap was widest over one and three years, a period when the companies VIG does not hold (Nvidia above all) led the market. Over ten years the gap was a smaller 1.84 to 1.91 points a year.
| Hypothetical $10,000 held for 10 years | Ending value |
|---|---|
| At VIG's 10-year return to 30 Jun 2026 (13.13%) | $34,338 |
| At VTI's 10-year return to 30 Jun 2026 (15.04%) | $40,597 |
What VIG offered in return was steadiness. Its three-year standard deviation was 10.68% against 13.45%, and in the prospectus its worst calendar quarter was -16.79% against -20.89% for VTI, both in the first quarter of 2020. Its best quarter was smaller too (13.96% against 22.09%, both in the second quarter of 2020). Lower swings in both directions are the trade.
Taxes: in the prospectus returns to 31 December 2025, taxes on distributions trimmed VIG's ten-year return by 0.52 points a year (13.09% to 12.57%) and VTI's by 0.47 points (14.25% to 13.78%), assuming the highest individual federal tax bracket. The difference is small.
This is educational information, not personalized investment advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results, and all investing carries the risk of loss.
Which One Fits You
One US stock fund for decades: VTI. It owns nearly everything in VIG plus the growth companies and small caps VIG leaves out, for 0.03%, and it has the higher return at every horizon shown.
You want a gentler ride and a rising income stream: VIG is a reasonable tilt. Its lower volatility may make it easier to hold through a downturn, which matters more than a small return gap if a crash would make you sell. Know what you give up: no Nvidia, Alphabet, Amazon or Meta, and no small companies.
Holding both. Because 99.6% of VIG is already in VTI, a VTI-plus-VIG portfolio is VTI with extra weight in dividend raisers like JPMorgan, Eli Lilly and Johnson & Johnson. That is a choice about weights, not added diversification.
Taxable account. VIG's 1.51% yield produces somewhat more taxable income than VTI's 1.03%: roughly $1,510 against $1,030 a year on $100,000, our arithmetic assuming the yields hold. The gap is modest. Selling an existing position to switch is a taxable event, so redirecting new money is usually cheaper.
Mutual fund versions. VIG's portfolio is also sold as Admiral Shares (VDADX) at 0.07%, and VTI's as VTSAX at 0.04%, each generally with a $3,000 minimum at Vanguard. The ETFs cost less and, per both prospectuses, carry "no minimum dollar amount you must invest," so they work at Fidelity, Schwab or any other broker.
For VIG against the S&P 500, see VIG vs VOO. For other dividend approaches, see VIG vs VYM, VIG vs SCHD, DGRO vs VIG and VTI vs VYM.
Sources & Methodology
- VIG summary prospectus, Form 497K dated 28 May 2026: VIG fee table (0.04%), cost example, turnover, index description, after-tax returns, best and worst quarters.
- Vanguard Specialized Funds, Form 485BPOS filed 28 May 2026: the S&P U.S. Dividend Growers Index definition (ten consecutive years of increases; top 25% of yields excluded).
- VDADX summary prospectus, Form 497K dated 28 May 2026: Admiral Shares fee (0.07%) and minimum.
- Vanguard Index Funds, Form 485BPOS filed 28 April 2026: VTI ETF fee table (0.03%), cost example, turnover, index description, after-tax returns, best and worst quarters, VTSAX fee.
- Vanguard, Form 497 supplement dated 29 July 2026: VTI's renaming to Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF, with objective and strategy unchanged. VIG was not renamed.
- Vanguard VIG fact sheet and VTI fact sheet, both as of 30 June 2026: returns, holdings, sectors, valuation, volatility and net assets.
- Vanguard VIG profile and VTI profile: 30-day SEC yields and returns as of 30 September 2026.
- VIG Form N-PORT, period ended 31 July 2026 and VTI Form N-PORT, period ended 30 June 2026: the holdings behind the overlap figures.
How the overlap was computed. We matched both N-PORT holdings lists and summed, for each shared stock, the smaller of its two weights, the same method as our Portfolio Overlap Checker. The two filings are a month apart, which is what the SEC had published for each fund when we checked.
Notes and limits. Sector weights come from two different classification schemes and are not subtracted. VIG's fact sheet lists one top-ten line as "Issuer Not Found"; we have not named it. We checked Vanguard's supplements filed after VIG's May 2026 prospectus and found no fee change. Returns from 30 June and 30 September 2026 are shown in separate rows and never mixed.
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. All investing carries the risk of loss. Figures were checked against the sources above on 5 October 2026. Confirm current figures with Vanguard and consider speaking with a licensed financial professional before acting.
FAQ: VIG vs VTI
Is VIG better than VTI?
For total return, it has not been: VTI returned 15.04% a year at NAV over the ten years to 30 June 2026 against 13.13% for VIG, and VTI also led over one, three and five years. VIG has been less volatile and yields a little more.
Should I hold both VIG and VTI?
Only if you want to overweight dividend-growth companies on purpose. By our calculation 99.6% of VIG is already in VTI stocks, so adding it changes weights rather than adding companies.
How much do VIG and VTI overlap?
99.6% of VIG's weight is in stocks VTI owns, and those stocks are 39.8% of VTI. The overlap, counting the smaller weight of each shared stock, is 38.3%. Filings: VIG 31 July 2026, VTI 30 June 2026.
Does VIG own Nvidia, Amazon or Alphabet?
Not in its July 2026 filing. It does own Apple, Microsoft and Broadcom, which were among its largest holdings.
What is VIG's dividend yield compared with VTI?
The 30-day SEC yield on 30 September 2026 was 1.51% for VIG and 1.03% for VTI.
Why is VIG's yield not higher?
Its index excludes the top 25% highest-yielding eligible companies. It targets companies that keep raising dividends, not those paying the most today.
Which is cheaper?
VTI, at 0.03% a year against 0.04% for VIG: $39 against $51 on $10,000 over ten years in the prospectus examples.
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"VIG vs VTI: Dividend Growers or the Whole US Market?" Wealthy Pot, 2026. https://wealthypot.com/vig-vs-vti/
Related comparisons: VIG vs VOO · VIG vs VYM · SCHD vs VTI · VTI vs VYM · DGRO vs VIG · VTI vs VTV · All ETF comparisons
