Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
HDV vs VHT: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, HDV returned +29.4% to VHT's +25.0%; 13% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $15.9bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares Core High Dividend ETF, and $19.1bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Health Care ETF.
Pair scorecard
HDV costs 0.01 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 4.4 points; VHT is 1.3 times larger.
| Measure | HDV | VHT |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +29.4% | +25.0% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Morningstar Dividend Yield Focus Index | MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Health Care 25/50 |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.08% | 0.09% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $14.5bn | $19.1bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 13% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 55.6% | 51.8% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Apr 8, 2011 to Oct 23, 2026 · 811 weekly returnsVHT returned more: +587.2% to +414.1%. HDV swung less: 13.9% to 16.3%. VHT fell less at its worst: −25.6% to −33.4%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | HDV | VHT | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +414.1% | +587.2% | VHT | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +11.1% | +13.2% | VHT | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +197.8% | +448.9% | VHT | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 13.9% | 16.3% | HDV | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 9.8% | 11.2% | HDV | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −33.4% | −25.6% | VHT | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.71 | 0.74 | VHT (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 1.00 | 1.07 | VHT (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.33 | 0.51 | VHT | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 811 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, HDV and VHT hold 13% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
13% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
HDV and VHT on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
HDV and VHT do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. HDV follows Morningstar Dividend Yield Focus Index and VHT follows MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Health Care 25/50.
- Holdings in common. 13% 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 HDV returned +29.4% and VHT +25.0% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 4.4 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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HDV
HDV tracks an index of High Dividend. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +29.4% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.08% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 90% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 77 positions, with the top ten at 55.6%.
VHT
VHT tracks an index of Health Care. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +25.0% with distributions reinvested, against +25.4% for its benchmark, the MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Health Care 25/50. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 86% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 414 positions, with the top ten at 51.8%.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, HDV or VHT?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, HDV returned +29.4% and VHT +25.0%.
- Which is cheaper, HDV or VHT?
- HDV is cheaper, by 0.01 percentage points a year. That is about $1 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, HDV against VHT, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/hdv-vs-vht
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). HDV against VHT. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/hdv-vs-vht
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