Data as of Sep 12, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.
VXUS vs XLV: how they differ
VXUS and XLV hold 0% of their weight in the same names, and VXUS returned more over the year.
Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund and State Street(R) Health Care Select Sector SPDR(R) ETF.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, VXUS and XLV hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Only in VXUS | Only in XLV |
|---|---|
| Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Lt 3.97% | Eli Lilly & Co 16.56% |
| Samsung Electronics Co Ltd 1.67% | Johnson & Johnson 10.67% |
| ASML Holding NV 1.32% | AbbVie Inc 7.76% |
| SK hynix Inc 1.14% | UnitedHealth Group Inc 6.59% |
| Tencent Holdings Ltd 0.89% | Merck & Co Inc 5.54% |
| HSBC Holdings PLC 0.74% | Amgen Inc 3.41% |
| Alibaba Group Holding Ltd 0.69% | Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc 3.25% |
| AstraZeneca PLC 0.67% | Abbott Laboratories 2.76% |
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 Jun 30, 2026.
| VXUS Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund | XLV State Street(R) Health Care Select Sector SPDR(R) ETF | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Core index fund | Core index fund |
| Issuer | Vanguard | State Street |
| What it is | Total International Stock | Health care |
| Total return, 1 year | +22.3% | +20.4% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +17.5% | +17.5% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | +4.8 pts | +2.9 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.05% | 0.08% |
| Already in the S&P 500 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| Holdings | 8775 | 59 |
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%.
XLV in plain words
XLV is an index equity fund tracking the Health care. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +20.4% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.08% a year. By its holdings filed for Jun 30, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 59 positions, with the top ten at 61.7%. It sat 5.9% below its high of Aug 19, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, VXUS or XLV?
- In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, VXUS returned +22.3% and XLV returned +20.4%, so VXUS returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
- Which is cheaper, VXUS or XLV?
- VXUS charges 0.05% a year and XLV charges 0.08%, so VXUS is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
- How much do VXUS and XLV overlap with the S&P 500?
- By their latest filed holdings, 0% of VXUS and 100% of XLV 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, VXUS against XLV, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/VXUS-XLV Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources