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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, HYG returned +1.3% and VCIT −1.8%.

Which is cheaper, HYG or VCIT?

VCIT is cheaper, by 0.46 percentage points a year. That is about $46 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

HYG vs VCIT: Differences, Returns & Fees

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HYG's duration was 2.9 years on Aug 31, 2026 and VCIT's 6.0 on May 31, 2026; VCIT charges 0.03% to HYG's 0.49%.

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Net assets: $17.5bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF, and $66.6bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF.

HYG on its own →VCIT on its own →

At a glance

+1.3%

HYG total return, 1 year

−1.8%

VCIT total return, 1 year

0.49%

HYG expense ratio

0.03%

VCIT expense ratio

Pair scorecard

VCIT costs 0.46 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.1 points; VCIT is 4.0 times larger.

HYG vs VCIT: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	HYG	VCIT
Return
Measure	HYG	VCIT
Total return, 1 year	+1.3%	−1.8%
Drawdown
Measure	HYG	VCIT
Below its high		3.2%, high on Feb 27, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	HYG	VCIT
What it tracks	Markit iBoxx USD Liquid High Yield Index	Bloomberg U.S. 5-10 Year Corporate Bond Index
Cost and size
Measure	HYG	VCIT
Expense ratio	0.49%	0.03%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026	$16.8bn	$66.6bn
Holdings
Measure	HYG	VCIT
Holdings in common	0%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026. Method

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, HYG and VCIT hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first HYG VCIT

Pilgrim's Pride Corp, due Mar 1, 2032 0.06% 0.04%

Pilgrim's Pride Corp, due May 15, 2034 0.04% 0.02%

Pilgrim's Pride Corp, due Jul 1, 2033 0.05% 0.02%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in HYG

1261229 BC Ltd, due Apr 15, 2032 0.50%

Meridian Arc Holdco LLC, due Apr 30, 2031 0.45%

EchoStar Corp, due Nov 30, 2029 0.43%

PR RNO Property Owner 1 LLC, due May 1, 2031 0.34%

Quikrete Holdings Inc, due Mar 1, 2032 0.32%

Cloud Software Group LLC, due Mar 31, 2029 0.32%

Cloud Software Group LLC, due Sep 30, 2029 0.32%

Galaxy Helios Data Centers II LLC, due Aug 1, 2031 0.30%

Only in VCIT

AMAZON.COM INC, due Mar 13, 2036 0.30%

BOEING CO/THE, due May 1, 2034 0.28%

META PLATFORMS, due Nov 15, 2035 0.27%

BANK OF AMER CRP, due Jul 22, 2033 0.27%

PFIZER INVSTMNT, due May 19, 2033 0.27%

ORACLE CORP, due Feb 4, 2036 0.27%

ANHEUSER-BUSCH, due Feb 1, 2036 0.27%

JPMORGAN CHASE, due Jul 25, 2033 0.25%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

HYG iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF VCIT Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF

Where it sits Bond ETF Bond ETF

Issuer iShares Vanguard

What it is Tracks an index of US high yield bonds Tracks an index of Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond

Total return, 1 year +1.3% −1.8%

Its benchmark over the same days −1.2% (IUSB) −1.8% (SCHI)

Gap to its benchmark +2.5 pts vs IUSB 0.0 pts vs SCHI

Expense ratio 0.49% 0.03%

Holdings 1332 2340

Net assets, HYG as of Oct 27, 2026 and VCIT as of Sep 30, 2026 $17.5bn $66.6bn

HYG and VCIT on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Alert

About each fund

HYG

HYG tracks an index of US high yield bonds. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +1.3% with distributions reinvested, against −1.2% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Universal Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.49% a year.

VCIT

VCIT tracks an index of Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −1.8% with distributions reinvested, against −1.8% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. 5-10 Year Corporate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. It sat 3.2% below its high of Feb 27, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, HYG or VCIT?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, HYG returned +1.3% and VCIT −1.8%.
Which is cheaper, HYG or VCIT?: VCIT is cheaper, by 0.46 percentage points a year. That is about $46 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

HYG vs LQD HYG vs IGIB HYG vs TLT HYG vs VGIT USHY vs VCIT JNK vs VCIT SHY vs VCIT IEI vs VCIT

Where to next

HYG on its own →VCIT on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →HYG dividend history →HYG holdings →VCIT dividend history →VCIT holdings →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

HYG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

HYG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for HYG ↗

VCIT filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

VCIT prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for VCIT ↗

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, HYG against VCIT, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/hyg-vs-vcit

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Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.