Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
GRID vs VTI: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, GRID returned +7.9% to VTI's +13.5%, and VTI charges 0.03% to GRID's 0.56%.
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Net assets: $11.4bn on Oct 27, 2026 for First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund, and $689.2bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF.
Pair scorecard
VTI costs 0.53 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.6 points.
| Measure | GRID | VTI |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +7.9% | +13.5% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its all-time high | 14.7%, high on May 11, 2026 | |
| Against its benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Electrification and the grid | Morningstar US Total Market Index |
| Against its benchmark, 1 year | behind by 5.4 pts | |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.56% | 0.03% |
| Net assets, GRID as of Oct 27, 2026 and VTI as of Sep 30, 2026 | $11.4bn | $689.2bn |
| Active share vs the S&P 500 | 92% | |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 7% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 57% | 34.7% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Nov 27, 2009 to Oct 23, 2026 · 882 weekly returnsVTI returned more: +812.6% to +555.3%. VTI swung less: 16.5% to 22.1%. VTI fell less at its worst: −32.9% to −39.0%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | GRID | VTI | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +555.3% | +812.6% | VTI | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +11.7% | +13.9% | VTI | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +444.6% | +578.1% | VTI | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 22.1% | 16.5% | VTI | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 15.2% | 11.4% | VTI | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −39.0% | −32.9% | VTI | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.54 | 0.78 | VTI | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.79 | 1.13 | VTI | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.30 | 0.42 | VTI | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 882 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, GRID and VTI hold 7% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
7% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
GRID and VTI on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
GRID and VTI do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. GRID follows Electrification and the grid and VTI follows Morningstar US Total Market Index.
- Holdings in common. 7% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 GRID returned +7.9% and VTI +13.5% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 5.6 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 the fund returned +7.9% with distributions reinvested against +13.3% for its benchmark, the Russell 3000 Index, so a holder was behind by 5.4 pts.
By weight, 41% of GRID's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 92%. The top ten holdings are 57% of the fund across 122 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026. It sits 14.7% below its all-time high of May 11, 2026.
VTI
VTI tracks an index of US total market. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.5% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 88% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 3,521 positions, with the top ten at 34.7%.
Questions people ask
- Are GRID and VTI in the same category?
- GRID is a thematic ETF and VTI is a stock ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
- Which returned more over the last year, GRID or VTI?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GRID returned +7.9% and VTI +13.5%.
- Which is cheaper, GRID or VTI?
- VTI is cheaper, by 0.53 percentage points a year. That is about $53 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.
How this is computed
Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.
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ETFIQ, GRID against VTI, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/grid-vs-vti
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). GRID against VTI. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/grid-vs-vti
[GRID against VTI (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/grid-vs-vti)
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