Data as of Sep 12, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.
ACWI vs VHT: how they differ
ACWI and VHT hold 5% of their weight in the same names, and VHT returned more over the year.
iShares MSCI ACWI ETF and Vanguard Health Care Index Fund.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, ACWI and VHT hold 5% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | ACWI | VHT |
|---|---|---|
| ELI LILLY AND COMPANY | 0.76% | 14.07% |
| JOHNSON & JOHNSON | 0.56% | 8.48% |
| ABBVIE INC. | 0.38% | 6.10% |
| UNITEDHEALTH GROUP INCORPORATED | 0.34% | 5.46% |
| MERCK & CO., INC. | 0.27% | 4.67% |
| AMGEN INC. | 0.19% | 2.87% |
| THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC INCORPORATED | 0.18% | 2.93% |
| GILEAD SCIENCES, INC. | 0.16% | 2.64% |
| INTUITIVE SURGICAL, INC. | 0.16% | 2.39% |
| ABBOTT LABORATORIES | 0.16% | 2.36% |
| PFIZER INC. | 0.15% | 2.36% |
| BRISTOL-MYERS SQUIBB COMPANY | 0.12% | 1.84% |
| Only in ACWI | Only in VHT |
|---|---|
| NVIDIA CORPORATION 4.89% | Viatris Inc 0.30% |
| APPLE INC. 4.02% | Tenet Healthcare Corp 0.24% |
| MICROSOFT CORPORATION 2.90% | Guardant Health Inc 0.23% |
| AMAZON.COM, INC. 2.58% | Moderna Inc 0.23% |
| ALPHABET INC. 2.26% | Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC 0.20% |
| BROADCOM INC. 1.90% | Exelixis Inc 0.20% |
| ALPHABET INC. 1.87% | Align Technology Inc 0.19% |
| Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Compa 1.73% | Elanco Animal Health Inc 0.19% |
Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Apr 30, 2026 and May 31, 2026.
| ACWI iShares MSCI ACWI ETF | VHT Vanguard Health Care Index Fund | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Core index fund | Core index fund |
| Issuer | iShares | Vanguard |
| What it is | MSCI ACWI | Health Care |
| Total return, 1 year | +19.1% | +21.6% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +17.5% | +17.5% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | +1.6 pts | +4.1 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.32% | 0.09% |
| Already in the S&P 500 | 61.4% | 85.6% |
| Holdings | 2307 | 401 |
ACWI in plain words
ACWI is an index equity fund tracking the MSCI ACWI. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +19.1% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.32% a year. By its holdings filed for Apr 30, 2026, 61% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 2307 positions, with the top ten at 24.6%.
VHT in plain words
VHT is an index equity fund tracking the Health Care. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +21.6% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% a year. By its holdings filed for May 31, 2026, 86% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 401 positions, with the top ten at 52.0%. It sat 5.7% below its high of Aug 19, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, ACWI or VHT?
- In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ACWI returned +19.1% and VHT returned +21.6%, so VHT returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
- Which is cheaper, ACWI or VHT?
- ACWI charges 0.32% a year and VHT charges 0.09%, so VHT is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
- How much do ACWI and VHT overlap with the S&P 500?
- By their latest filed holdings, 61% of ACWI and 86% of VHT by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds. Between the two funds, 5% of their books are the same securities at the same weight.
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Where these figures came from
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, ACWI against VHT, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ACWI-VHT Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources