Wealthy PotVT vs VTSAX: The World Fund Is 60% the US Fund Already
VT owns the whole world's stock market. VTSAX owns the whole US stock market. Because the US is the largest market in the world, VT is mostly VTSAX already: 61.1% of VT's money sat in companies VTSAX also owns, on the two funds' latest SEC holdings filings. The other 38.9% is everything VTSAX leaves out, from Japan and Taiwan to the UK, Canada and the emerging markets. So the real question is not which fund is better. It is whether you want about 38% of your stocks outside the US. VTSAX is cheaper (0.04% against 0.06%) and won the last decade by a wide margin: 14.69% a year against 12.32% to 30 September 2026. VT won calendar 2025 by more than five points. Pick one as your core. Holding both just tilts you back toward the US.
Table of Contents
The Short Answer
- Overlap: 61.1%. That much of VT is invested in companies VTSAX also holds. Seen from the other side, 97.9% of VTSAX's money is in companies VT holds too.
- VT is 62.0% US (31 August 2026, Vanguard's own country breakdown). The rest is spread across developed and emerging markets, led by Japan at 5.9%.
- Fees: VTSAX 0.04%, VT 0.06%. On the prospectus example of $10,000 over ten years: $51 against $77. VTSAX needs $3,000 to open; VT has no fund minimum.
- Ten years to 30 September 2026: VTSAX 14.69% a year, VT 12.32%. Over the latest one year, VT was ahead, 16.32% against 15.32%. In calendar 2025 VT was ahead by 5.32 points.
- VT is less concentrated: its ten largest holdings were 21.7% of the fund against 33.4% for the US total market portfolio, and technology was 33.3% against 41.0% (30 June 2026 fact sheets).
- VTSAX is more tax-efficient in a taxable account: 0.46 points a year lost to taxes on distributions over ten years, against 0.63 for VT.
How Much of VT Is Already VTSAX
We ran the pair through our Portfolio Overlap Checker, which matches the funds' SEC Form N-PORT holdings company by company and adds up the smaller weight of each shared holding. The latest filings available are not for the same date: VT's fund reported holdings for 31 July 2026 and VTSAX's fund for 30 June 2026. With that caveat, here is what the match shows.
| Overlap measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Overlap (sum of the smaller weight of each shared company) | 61.1% |
| Share of VT's weight in companies VTSAX also holds | 61.1% |
| Share of VTSAX's weight in companies VT also holds | 97.9% |
| Companies in common | 1,478 |
| Companies in VT's filing / VTSAX's filing | 9,682 / 3,159 |
Two things stand out.
The 61.1% is essentially VT's US slice. Every dollar VT puts into an American company lands in a company VTSAX also owns, just at a smaller weight. NVIDIA was 4.06% of VT against 6.36% of VTSAX; Apple 3.87% against 5.87%; Microsoft 2.99% against 3.83%. Same names, scaled down by the room VT gives the rest of the world.
VT skips most small US companies, and it barely matters. VT held 1,478 of the 3,159 US companies in VTSAX's filing. The roughly 1,700 it skipped were about 2% of VTSAX's money. VT samples its index rather than buying every stock, and at the small end of the US market that sampling leaves out a lot of names that each weigh very little.
So in practice you are choosing between "the US market" and "the US market at about three-fifths weight, plus about 38% in the rest of the world." Our VT vs VTI page covers the same split with the ETF version of VTSAX.
VT vs VTSAX Side by Side
| VT | VTSAX | |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Vanguard Total World Stock ETF | Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market Index Fund Admiral Shares |
| Type | ETF share class | Mutual fund share class (Admiral) |
| Index | FTSE Global All Cap Index | Morningstar US Total Market Index (CRSP US Total Market Index until 29 Jul 2026) |
| Expense ratio | 0.06% | 0.04% |
| Prospectus cost on $10,000, 10 years | $77 | $51 |
| Minimum to open | None set by the fund | $3,000; $1 to add |
| Account service fee | None listed | Up to $25 a year on fund accounts below $5 million |
| Stocks held (31 Aug 2026) | 10,088 | 3,507 |
| US share of stocks | 62.0% (31 Aug 2026) | US market only |
| Top ten holdings (30 Jun 2026) | 21.7% | 33.4% |
| Technology sector (30 Jun 2026) | 33.3% | 41.0% |
| Fund net assets (31 Aug 2026) | $101.7 billion (VT class $81.9 billion) | $2.3 trillion (VTSAX class $489.8 billion) |
| Portfolio turnover | 3% (year to 31 Oct 2025) | 3% (year to 31 Dec 2025) |
| Inception | 24 Jun 2008 | 13 Nov 2000 |
About the name. Vanguard renamed VTSAX's fund the Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market Index Fund on 29 July 2026, after Morningstar acquired the CRSP indexes, and its target index became the Morningstar US Total Market Index. The supplement says each fund's "investment objective, strategies, and polices remain unchanged." The ticker did not change. VT is not affected; it tracks a FTSE index.
Returns Depend on Which Decade You Pick
| Average annual total return to 30 Sep 2026 | 1 year | 3 years | 5 years | 10 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VT, NAV | 16.32% | 21.42% | 11.34% | 12.32% |
| VTSAX | 15.32% | 22.31% | 12.55% | 14.69% |
| VT minus VTSAX | +1.00 | -0.89 | -1.21 | -2.37 |
| Average annual total return to 31 Dec 2025 | 1 year | 5 years | 10 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| VT, before taxes | 22.44% | 11.01% | 11.78% |
| VTSAX, before taxes | 17.12% | 13.06% | 14.24% |
| VT minus VTSAX | +5.32 | -2.05 | -2.46 |
| FTSE Global All Cap Index | 22.41 | 11.10 | 11.82 |
| CRSP US Total Market Index | 17.15 | 13.08 | 14.25 |
Read the two tables together. Over ten years the US-only fund was ahead by about 2.4 points a year, which is a large gap. Over the most recent year, and over 2025 alone, the global fund was ahead. Both funds tracked their own index closely, so none of this is about either fund being better run. It is the US market beating the rest of the world over one particular decade, and then not doing so in 2025.
| Hypothetical $10,000 held for 10 years | Ending value |
|---|---|
| At VT's 10-year NAV return (12.32%) | $31,957 |
| At VTSAX's 10-year return (14.69%) | $39,378 |
| Difference | about $7,421 |
That gap is the cost of having owned the rest of the world during a decade the US led. VT's argument is that nobody can tell in advance which decade comes next. VTSAX's argument is that US companies have earned their weight. Neither argument can be settled by the table above.
This is educational information, not personalized investment advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results, and all investing carries the risk of loss.
The Tax Difference Nobody Mentions
In an IRA, 401(k) or Roth, skip this section. In a taxable brokerage account, two things favour VTSAX.
Lower tax drag. On the SEC's standard after-tax calculation in each prospectus, VTSAX lost 0.46 points a year to taxes on distributions over the ten years to 2025. VT lost 0.63. Over five years it was 0.38 against 0.61. Neither fund paid a capital gains distribution in any of its last five fiscal years, so the difference comes from taxes on dividends, not gains.
No foreign tax credit through VT. Foreign countries withhold tax on dividends paid to the fund. VT's prospectus says those taxes can be passed through to you, so you can claim a credit or deduction, only "if, at the end of the taxable year, more than 50% of the value of the Fund's assets consists of securities of foreign corporations, and the Fund makes a special election." With about 62% of the fund in US companies, VT is well short of that test. A standalone international fund held next to VTSAX, such as VTIAX or VXUS, is mostly foreign and can meet it. That is one reason some taxable investors build "VT" from two funds instead.
Which One Fits You
Choose VT if you want one fund that holds the whole world at market weight and never asks you to decide how much belongs outside the US. It is the simplest complete stock portfolio there is, and it trades at any brokerage with no fund minimum.
Choose VTSAX if you want only US stocks, the lowest fee, and mutual fund conveniences at Vanguard, such as automatic investing in exact dollar amounts. It also suits investors who plan to add a separate international fund so they control the split. See VTI vs VXUS for how that pairing works, and VTIAX vs VXUS for the international half.
In a taxable account, the two points above make VTSAX plus a separate international fund a little more tax-friendly than VT. In an IRA, those points do not apply.
Account type matters. VT is an ETF and can be bought at any broker. VTSAX is a Vanguard mutual fund with a $3,000 minimum, and other brokers may charge a fee to buy it. If you want VTSAX's portfolio at another broker, its ETF class is VTI. If you want VT's portfolio as a Vanguard mutual fund, it is VTWAX, covered in VT vs VTWAX and VTSAX vs VTWAX.
Do not hold both. VT already contains about 60% VTSAX. Adding VTSAX on top raises your US share above market weight. If that is what you want, choose the split on purpose with two separate funds.
Already own one in a taxable account? Moving between them is a sale and a purchase of two different funds, which can realize capital gains. Changing what you buy with new money is usually cheaper than switching what you already hold.
Sources & Methodology
Every figure on this page was read from a Vanguard SEC filing or from Vanguard's own published fund data.
- VT summary prospectus, Form 497K dated 27 February 2026: index, 0.06% fee, cost example, turnover, and returns to 31 December 2025 before and after taxes.
- VTSAX summary prospectus, Form 497K dated 28 April 2026: 0.04% fee, $25 account service fee, $3,000 minimum, turnover, and returns to 31 December 2025.
- Vanguard Form 497 supplement dated 29 July 2026: the fund and index renames.
- Vanguard International Equity Index Funds, Form 485BPOS filed 27 February 2026 and Vanguard Index Funds, Form 485BPOS filed 28 April 2026: foreign tax pass-through rule and five years of capital gains distribution history for each fund.
- Total World Stock Index Fund Form N-PORT, period ended 31 July 2026 and Total Stock Market Index Fund Form N-PORT, period ended 30 June 2026: the holdings behind the overlap figures.
- VT fact sheet and VTI fact sheet, both as of 30 June 2026: top-ten weights and sector breakdowns.
- Vanguard VT profile and VTSAX profile: stock counts, net assets and VT's country weights as of 31 August 2026, and quarter-end returns to 30 September 2026.
How the overlap was computed. The Portfolio Overlap Checker takes each fund's latest Form N-PORT, groups holdings by company, and sums the smaller of the two weights for every company both funds hold. The two filings are a month apart, which can move the result slightly.
Limits. We did not use yields or trading spreads, which Vanguard publishes only on its website. We have not checked whether VT made the foreign tax election in any particular year; the point above rests on the test written in its prospectus and its current US weight.
This article is for general education and is not investment, tax or legal advice. Fund data changes daily, index returns cannot be invested in directly, and past performance does not guarantee future results. International investing adds currency and political risk. Figures were checked against the sources above on 5 October 2026; confirm current figures with Vanguard and consider speaking with a licensed professional before acting.
FAQ: VT vs VTSAX
Is VT or VTSAX better?
Neither in general. VTSAX is cheaper (0.04% against 0.06%) and returned 14.69% a year over the ten years to 30 September 2026 against VT's 12.32%, because US stocks led that decade. VT is more diversified, is less concentrated in its top ten holdings, and led over the latest year. The choice is whether you want about 38% of your stocks outside the US.
How much do VT and VTSAX overlap?
61.1%, on the funds' latest SEC holdings filings (VT at 31 July 2026, VTSAX at 30 June 2026). That is roughly VT's US portion. In the other direction, 97.9% of VTSAX's money is in companies VT also holds.
How much of VT is US stocks?
62.0% of its stocks at 31 August 2026, by Vanguard's own country breakdown, down from 63.1% a year earlier. The next largest markets were Japan (5.9%), Taiwan (3.3%), the UK (3.2%) and Canada (3.1%).
Should I own both VT and VTSAX?
Usually not. VT already holds the US market at about 62%. Adding VTSAX pushes your US share higher without adding anything new. If you want a specific US-to-international split, use VTSAX with a separate international fund and set the weights yourself.
Which is better in a taxable account?
VTSAX has had lower tax drag: 0.46 points a year over ten years against 0.63 for VT. VT also cannot pass foreign taxes through for a credit while it is majority US, because its prospectus requires more than 50% foreign assets. In an IRA or Roth neither point matters.
What index does VTSAX track now?
The Morningstar US Total Market Index, which was the CRSP US Total Market Index until 29 July 2026. Vanguard says the fund's objective, strategies and policies did not change. VT tracks the FTSE Global All Cap Index.
Can I buy VTSAX outside Vanguard?
Some brokers offer Vanguard mutual funds, but they may charge a transaction fee, and the $3,000 minimum still applies. The ETF class of the same fund, VTI, trades anywhere. VT is an ETF already.
Cite This Page
Journalists, educators and bloggers are welcome to cite this comparison. Please link back so readers can reach the underlying filings.
"VT vs VTSAX: The World Fund Is 60% the US Fund Already." Wealthy Pot, 2026. https://wealthypot.com/vt-vs-vtsax/
Related comparisons: VT vs VTI · VTSAX vs VTWAX · VT vs VTWAX · VTSAX vs VTI · VT vs VOO · VT vs VXUS · All ETF comparisons
