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22 important things you should know about Vanguard VTI ETF
Updated: December 27, 2020
100
Bull Case
- High net assets
- 3-year return above the benchmark
- 5-year return above the benchmark
- 10-year return above the benchmark
- 15-year return above the benchmark
- Low expense ratio
Bear Case
- No Bear case arguments for now!
Before we start: if you’re looking for VTI “stock” price, you can quickly find it out by visiting Finny and typing "VTI quote". If you’re looking for a quick scoop on VTI "stock" (price chart, key stats, buy or sell analysis and holdings), go to Finny and look for "VTI". You’ll get all this info in one place.
Are you looking to buy or sell VTI? Or perhaps you’re looking for VTI fact sheet, and learn about its alternatives? If so, you came to the right place.
In this VTI ETF review, we’ll address key questions our readers have been asking us about this fund, above and beyond what you can find in its prospectus, and on Morningstar or Yahoo Finance.
Here is what you’ll be able to find in this review:
- Fact Sheet: VTI performance, returns, expense ratio, holdings and dividend yield;
- Analysis: VTI buy or sell; the pros and cons of investing in VTI ETF;
- Alternatives: other ETFs and mutual funds you should consider as alternatives to VTI.
And here is the list of questions we’ll answer:
- Describe Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI).
- What is VTI underlying index?
- What are VTI holdings?
- What is VTI performance? What are VTI historical returns?
- How many up and down years did VTI have historically?
- What is VTI dividend yield?
- What is VTI expense ratio?
- What is VTI tax efficiency (tax-cost ratio)?
- What is VTI beta? How would you assess VTI risk?
- What is VTI Sharpe ratio?
- What is VTI Finny Score? VTI buy or sell?
- What are the pros of investing in VTI? What are VTI buy reasons?
- What are the cons of investing in VTI? What are VTI sell reasons?
- Compare and contrast: VTI vs VOO.
- Compare and contrast: VTI vs VTSAX.
- Compare and contrast: VTI vs SPY.
- Compare and contrast: VTI vs VYM.
- Compare and contrast: VTI vs QQQ.
- Compare and contrast: VTI vs VT.
- Compare and contrast: VTI vs ITOT.
- Compare and contrast: VTI vs SCHB.
So let’s start. Scroll down to the question that interests you the most.
Fact Sheet
1. Describe Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI).
The Fund seeks to track the performance of a benchmark index that measures the investment return of the overall stock market. The Fund employs an indexing investment approach to track the performance of the CRSP US Total Market Index. The Fund invests by holding a collection of securities that approximates the Index.
3. What are VTI top holdings?
VTI has 3,573 stock holdings and 2 bond holdings.
The top 10 holdings represent 22.98% of total assets. Here are the top holdings:
| Name | Symbol | % Assets |
|---|---|---|
| Apple Inc | AAPL | 5.16% |
| Microsoft Corp | MSFT | 4.72% |
| Amazon.com Inc | AMZN | 3.98% |
| Facebook Inc A | FB | 1.95% |
| Alphabet Inc A | GOOGL | 1.50% |
| Alphabet Inc Class C | GOOG | 1.41% |
| Berkshire Hathaway Inc Class B | BRK.B | 1.16% |
| Johnson & Johnson | JNJ | 1.11% |
| Procter & Gamble Co | PG | 1.05% |
| Visa Inc Class A | V | 0.94% |
4. What is VTI performance? What are VTI historical returns?
VTI has generated the following returns:
- 1-month return is 5.62%;
- 3-month return is 14.88%;
- 1-year return is 21.19%;
- 3-year return is 13.90%;
- 5-year return is 15.65%;
- 10-year return is 13.80%;
- 15-year return is 9.91%.
5. How many up and down years did VTI have historically?
In the last 10 years, VTI had 9 up years and 1 down year.
6. What is VTI dividend yield?
VTI yield is 1.54%.
7. What is VTI expense ratio?
VTI expense ratio is 0.03%. The expense ratio of a fund is the total percentage of fund assets used for administrative, management, and all other expenses.
8. What is VTI tax efficiency (tax-cost ratio)?
- 1-year ax cost ratio is 0.61%;
- 3-year ax cost ratio is 0.64%.
9. What is VTI beta? How would you assess VTI risk?
- 3-year beta is 1.03;
- 5-year beta is 1.04;
- 10-year beta is 1.03;
- 15-year beta is 1.03.
10. What is VTI Sharpe ratio?
- 3-year Sharpe ratio is 0.52;
- 5-year Sharpe ratio is 0.72;
- 10-year Sharpe ratio is 0.90;
- 15-year Sharpe ratio is 0.57.
Analysis
11. What is Finny Score? buy or sell?
Finny Score is 100. Our quantitative analysis shows 6 reasons to buy and 0 reasons to sell it, resulting in the Finny Score of 100.
12. What are the pros of investing in VTI? What are VTI buy reasons?
The following are VTI strengths from our perspective:
- VTI net assets are $188.90 billion. This fund is a popular choice with retail and institutional investors.
- VTI 3-year return is 13.9%, which is higher than the 3-year return of the benchmark index (S&P 500 TR USD), 13.47%.
- VTI 5-year return is 15.65%, which is higher than the 5-year return of the benchmark index (S&P 500 TR USD), 15.37%.
- VTI 10-year return is 13.8%, which is in line with the 10-year return of the benchmark index (S&P 500 TR USD), 13.87%.
- VTI 15-year return is 9.91%, which is higher than the 15-year return of the benchmark index (S&P 500 TR USD), 9.68%.
- VTI expense ratio is 0.03%, which is considered low. Nice job picking a low-cost fund.
13. What are the cons of investing in VTI? What are VTI negatives?
There are no visible red flags.
Alternatives
14. Compare and contrast: VTI vs VOO.
Both VTI and VOO are ETFs. VTI has a higher 5-year return than VOO (15.65% vs 15.33%). VTI and VOO have the same expense ratio (0.03%). Below is the comparison between VTI and VOO.
| VTI | VOO | |
|---|---|---|
| Segment | Equity: U.S. - Total Market | Equity: U.S. - Large Cap |
| Net Assets | $188.90B | $177.61B |
| Expense Ratio | 0.03% | 0.03% |
| Management Style | passive (index-based) | passive (index-based) |
| Underlying Index | CRSP US Total Market Index | S&P 500 |
| YTD Return | 19.81% | 16.76% |
| 1-Year Return | 21.19% | 18.22% |
| 3-Year Return | 13.9% | 13.39% |
| 5-Year Return | 15.65% | 15.33% |
| 10-Year Return | 13.8% | 13.81% |
| Dividend Yield | 1.54% | 1.61% |
VOO profile: The Fund seeks to track the performance of its benchmark index, the S&P 500. The Fund employs an indexing investment approach. The Fund attempts to replicate the target index by investing all of its assets in the stocks that make up the Index with the same approximate weightings as the Index.
For further information, check out VTI vs VOO comparison details.
15. Compare and contrast: VTI vs VTSAX.
VTI is an ETF, whereas VTSAX is a mutual fund. VTI has a higher 5-year return than VTSAX (15.65% vs 15.4%). VTI has a lower expense ratio than VTSAX (0.03% vs 0.04%). Below is the comparison between VTI and VTSAX.
| VTI | VTSAX | |
|---|---|---|
| Segment | Equity: U.S. - Total Market | U.S. Equity: Large Blend |
| Net Assets | $188.90B | $264.58B |
| Expense Ratio | 0.03% | 0.04% |
| Management Style | passive (index-based) | passive (index-based) |
| Underlying Index | CRSP US Total Market Index | N/A |
| YTD Return | 19.81% | 19.47% |
| 1-Year Return | 21.19% | 19.8% |
| 3-Year Return | 13.9% | 13.88% |
| 5-Year Return | 15.65% | 15.4% |
| 10-Year Return | 13.8% | 13.66% |
| Dividend Yield | 1.54% | 1.53% |
VTSAX profile: The Fund seeks to track the performance of a benchmark index that measures the investment return of the overall stock market. The Fund employs an indexing investment approach to track the performance of the CRSP US Total Market Index. The Fund invests by holding a collection of securities that approximates the Index.
For further information, check out VTI vs VTSAX comparison details.
16. Compare and contrast: VTI vs SPY.
Both VTI and SPY are ETFs. VTI has a higher 5-year return than SPY (15.65% vs 15.26%). VTI has a lower expense ratio than SPY (0.03% vs 0.09%). Below is the comparison between VTI and SPY.
| VTI | SPY | |
|---|---|---|
| Segment | Equity: U.S. - Total Market | Equity: U.S. - Large Cap |
| Net Assets | $188.90B | $322.49B |
| Expense Ratio | 0.03% | 0.09% |
| Management Style | passive (index-based) | passive (index-based) |
| Underlying Index | CRSP US Total Market Index | S&P 500 |
| YTD Return | 19.81% | 16.89% |
| 1-Year Return | 21.19% | 18.29% |
| 3-Year Return | 13.9% | 13.36% |
| 5-Year Return | 15.65% | 15.26% |
| 10-Year Return | 13.8% | 13.75% |
| Dividend Yield | 1.54% | 1.57% |
SPY profile: The Trust seeks investment results that, before expenses, generally correspond to the price and yield performance of the component common stocks of the S&P 500 Index.
For further information, check out VTI vs SPY comparison details.
17. Compare and contrast: VTI vs VYM.
Both VTI and VYM are ETFs. VTI has a higher 5-year return than VYM (15.65% vs 10.24%). VTI has a lower expense ratio than VYM (0.03% vs 0.06%). Below is the comparison between VTI and VYM.
| VTI | VYM | |
|---|---|---|
| Segment | Equity: U.S. - Total Market | Equity: U.S. - High Dividend Yield |
| Net Assets | $188.90B | $30.00B |
| Expense Ratio | 0.03% | 0.06% |
| Management Style | passive (index-based) | passive (index-based) |
| Underlying Index | CRSP US Total Market Index | FTSE High Dividend Yield Index Net TR US RIC |
| YTD Return | 19.81% | 0.3% |
| 1-Year Return | 21.19% | 1.19% |
| 3-Year Return | 13.9% | 5.31% |
| 5-Year Return | 15.65% | 10.24% |
| 10-Year Return | 13.8% | 11.45% |
| Dividend Yield | 1.54% | 3.22% |
VYM profile: The Fund seeks to track the performance of a benchmark index that measures the investment return of common stocks of companies that are characterized by high dividend yield. The Fund attempts to replicate the FTSE High Dividend Yield Index by investing substantially all of its assets in the stocks that make up the Index.
For further information, check out VTI vs VYM comparison details.
18. Compare and contrast: VTI vs QQQ.
Both VTI and QQQ are ETFs. VTI has a lower 5-year return than QQQ (15.65% vs 24.11%). VTI has a lower expense ratio than QQQ (0.03% vs 0.2%). Below is the comparison between VTI and QQQ.
| VTI | QQQ | |
|---|---|---|
| Segment | Equity: U.S. - Total Market | Equity: U.S. - Large Cap |
| Net Assets | $188.90B | $144.62B |
| Expense Ratio | 0.03% | 0.2% |
| Management Style | passive (index-based) | passive (index-based) |
| Underlying Index | CRSP US Total Market Index | NASDAQ-100 Index |
| YTD Return | 19.81% | 46.61% |
| 1-Year Return | 21.19% | 49.07% |
| 3-Year Return | 13.9% | 25.95% |
| 5-Year Return | 15.65% | 24.11% |
| 10-Year Return | 13.8% | 20.18% |
| Dividend Yield | 1.54% | 0.55% |
QQQ profile: The Fund seeks to provide investment results that generally correspond to the price and yield performance of the Nasdaq-100 Index. The Index measures the average performance of a broadly diversified group of equity securities issued by 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on The NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc.
For further information, check out VTI vs QQQ comparison details.
19. Compare and contrast: VTI vs VT.
Both VTI and VT are ETFs. VTI has a higher 5-year return than VT (15.65% vs 12.72%). VTI has a lower expense ratio than VT (0.03% vs 0.08%). Below is the comparison between VTI and VT.
| VTI | VT | |
|---|---|---|
| Segment | Equity: U.S. - Total Market | Equity: Global - Total Market |
| Net Assets | $188.90B | $15.97B |
| Expense Ratio | 0.03% | 0.08% |
| Management Style | passive (index-based) | passive (index-based) |
| Underlying Index | CRSP US Total Market Index | FTSE Global All Cap Net TR US RIC |
| YTD Return | 19.81% | 15.5% |
| 1-Year Return | 21.19% | 16.62% |
| 3-Year Return | 13.9% | 9.84% |
| 5-Year Return | 15.65% | 12.72% |
| 10-Year Return | 13.8% | 9.46% |
| Dividend Yield | 1.54% | 1.8% |
VT profile: The Fund seeks to track the performance of a benchmark index that measures the investment return of stocks of companies located in developed and emerging markets around the world. The Fund employs an indexing investment approach to track the performance of the FTSE Global All Cap Index and attempts to sample the index.
For further information, check out VTI vs VT comparison details.
20. Compare and contrast: VTI vs ITOT.
Both VTI and ITOT are ETFs. VTI has a higher 5-year return than ITOT (15.65% vs 15.57%). VTI and ITOT have the same expense ratio (0.03%). Below is the comparison between VTI and ITOT.
| VTI | ITOT | |
|---|---|---|
| Segment | Equity: U.S. - Total Market | Equity: U.S. - Total Market |
| Net Assets | $188.90B | $30.73B |
| Expense Ratio | 0.03% | 0.03% |
| Management Style | passive (index-based) | passive (index-based) |
| Underlying Index | CRSP US Total Market Index | S&P Total Market Index |
| YTD Return | 19.81% | 19.65% |
| 1-Year Return | 21.19% | 21.1% |
| 3-Year Return | 13.9% | 13.81% |
| 5-Year Return | 15.65% | 15.57% |
| 10-Year Return | 13.8% | 13.81% |
| Dividend Yield | 1.54% | 1.6% |
ITOT profile: The Fund seeks investment results that correspond to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of its Underlying Index. The Fund Advisor uses a "passive" approach to try to achieve this. The Fund will invest at least 90% of its total assets in the securities of its Underlying Index.
For further information, check out VTI vs ITOT comparison details.
21. Compare and contrast: VTI vs SCHB.
Both VTI and SCHB are ETFs. VTI has a higher 5-year return than SCHB (15.65% vs 15.54%). VTI and SCHB have the same expense ratio (0.03%). Below is the comparison between VTI and SCHB.
| VTI | SCHB | |
|---|---|---|
| Segment | Equity: U.S. - Total Market | Equity: U.S. - Total Market |
| Net Assets | $188.90B | $17.28B |
| Expense Ratio | 0.03% | 0.03% |
| Management Style | passive (index-based) | passive (index-based) |
| Underlying Index | CRSP US Total Market Index | Dow Jones U.S. Broad Stock Market Index |
| YTD Return | 19.81% | 19.51% |
| 1-Year Return | 21.19% | 20.84% |
| 3-Year Return | 13.9% | 13.8% |
| 5-Year Return | 15.65% | 15.54% |
| 10-Year Return | 13.8% | 13.77% |
| Dividend Yield | 1.54% | 1.81% |
SCHB profile: The Fund seeks diversified exposure across large- and small-cap U.S. stocks. It seeks investment results that track performance, before fees and expenses, of the approximately 2,500-stock Dow Jones U.S. Broad Stock Market Index.
For further information, check out VTI vs SCHB comparison details.
