Data as of Sep 12, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.
QUAL vs VXUS: how they differ
QUAL and VXUS hold 0% of their weight in the same names, and VXUS returned more over the year.
iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF and Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, QUAL and VXUS hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Only in QUAL | Only in VXUS |
|---|---|
| NVIDIA CORPORATION 6.52% | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Lt 3.97% |
| APPLE INC. 6.28% | Samsung Electronics Co Ltd 1.67% |
| MICROSOFT CORPORATION 5.05% | ASML Holding NV 1.32% |
| META PLATFORMS, INC. 3.50% | SK hynix Inc 1.14% |
| LAM RESEARCH CORPORATION 3.23% | Tencent Holdings Ltd 0.89% |
| THE TJX COMPANIES, INC. 3.19% | HSBC Holdings PLC 0.74% |
| VISA INC. 3.09% | Alibaba Group Holding Ltd 0.69% |
| ELI LILLY AND COMPANY 2.92% | AstraZeneca PLC 0.67% |
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.
| QUAL iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF | VXUS Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Core index fund | Core index fund |
| Issuer | iShares | Vanguard |
| What it is | MSCI USA Quality Factor | Total International Stock |
| Total return, 1 year | +16.0% | +22.3% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +17.5% | +17.5% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | −1.5 pts | +4.8 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.15% | 0.05% |
| Already in the S&P 500 | 98.9% | 0.0% |
| Holdings | 121 | 8775 |
QUAL in plain words
QUAL is an index equity fund tracking the MSCI USA Quality Factor. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +16.0% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. By its holdings filed for Apr 30, 2026, 99% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 121 positions, with the top ten at 39.1%. It sat 3.1% below its high of Aug 13, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.
VXUS in plain words
VXUS is an index equity fund tracking the Total International Stock. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +22.3% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.05% a year. By its holdings filed for Apr 30, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 8775 positions, with the top ten at 12.4%.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, QUAL or VXUS?
- In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QUAL returned +16.0% and VXUS returned +22.3%, so VXUS returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
- Which is cheaper, QUAL or VXUS?
- QUAL charges 0.15% a year and VXUS charges 0.05%, so VXUS is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
- How much do QUAL and VXUS overlap with the S&P 500?
- By their latest filed holdings, 99% of QUAL and 0% of VXUS by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds. Between the two funds, 0% 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, QUAL against VXUS, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/QUAL-VXUS Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources