Which returned more over the last year, HYG or VBK?

In the year to Sep 13, 2026, with distributions reinvested, HYG returned +2.9% and VBK returned +13.8%, so VBK returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.

Which is cheaper, HYG or VBK?

HYG charges 0.49% a year and VBK charges 0.05%, so VBK is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Sep 13, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.

ETFIQetfiq.com · independent ETF data

HYG vs VBK: how they differ

HYG and VBK hold 0% of their weight in the same names, and VBK returned more over the year.

iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF and Vanguard Small-Cap Growth Index Fund.

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, HYG and VBK hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.

Largest positions each one holds and the other does not
Only in HYG	Only in VBK
BLK CSH FND TREASURY SL AGENCY 0.68%	Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd 1.27%
1261229 BC LTD 144A 0.56%	REVOLUTION Medicines Inc 1.07%
MERIDIAN ARC HOLDCO LLC 144A 0.47%	Astera Labs Inc 1.05%
PR RNO PROPERTY OWNER 1 LLC 144A 0.35%	Natera Inc 1.04%
WULF COMPUTE LLC 144A 0.29%	Twilio Inc 0.88%
GALAXY HELIOS DATA CENTERS II LLC 144A 0.28%	Casey's General Stores Inc 0.83%
PANTHER ESCROW ISSUER LLC 144A 0.28%	Carpenter Technology Corp 0.82%
SV RNO PROPERTY OWNER 1 LLC 144A 0.28%	Curtiss-Wright Corp 0.79%

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 Jun 30, 2026 and Sep 10, 2026.

HYG and VBK on the fields both publish, as of Sep 13, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
	HYG iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF	VBK Vanguard Small-Cap Growth Index Fund
Where it sits	Core index fund	Core index fund
Issuer	iShares	Vanguard
What it is	US high yield bonds	Small-Cap Growth
Total return, 1 year	+2.9%	+13.8%
S&P 500 over the same days	+17.5%	+17.5%
Gap to the S&P 500	−14.6 pts	−3.7 pts
Expense ratio	0.49%	0.05%
Holdings	1326	545

HYG in plain words

HYG is a bond fund tracking the US high yield bonds. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +2.9% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.49% a year.

VBK in plain words

VBK is an index equity fund tracking the Small-Cap Growth. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +13.8% 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 Jun 30, 2026, 10% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 545 positions, with the top ten at 9.3%. It sat 7.0% below its high of Aug 17, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, HYG or VBK?: In the year to Sep 13, 2026, with distributions reinvested, HYG returned +2.9% and VBK returned +13.8%, so VBK returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
Which is cheaper, HYG or VBK?: HYG charges 0.49% a year and VBK charges 0.05%, so VBK is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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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.

HYG against VBK, ETFIQ, data as of Sep 13, 2026. Every figure is arithmetic on a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page. ETFIQ, HYG against VBK, data as of Sep 13, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/hyg-vs-vbk Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources