Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
IAI vs VFH: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IAI returned +2.3% to VFH's +7.5%; 17% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $1.3bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares U.S. Broker-Dealers & Securities Exchanges ETF, and $12.7bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Financials ETF.
Pair scorecard
VFH costs 0.28 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.2 points; VFH is 9.8 times larger.
| Measure | IAI | VFH |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +2.3% | +7.5% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 9.5%, high on Sep 3, 2026 | 4.4%, high on Sep 3, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Dow Jones U.S. Select Investment Services Index | MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Financials 25/50 |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.37% | 0.09% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $1.3bn | $12.7bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 17% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 74.5% | 48.2% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
May 12, 2006 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,067 weekly returnsIAI returned more: +392.9% to +256.2%. VFH swung slightly less: 25.8% to 26.4%. IAI fell slightly less at its worst: −73.6% to −78.6%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | IAI | VFH | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +392.9% | +256.2% | IAI | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +8.1% | +6.4% | IAI | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +263.7% | +130.8% | IAI | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 26.4% | 25.8% | VFH (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 18.3% | 17.8% | VFH (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −73.6% | −78.6% | IAI (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.36 | 0.30 | IAI | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.52 | 0.44 | IAI | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.11 | 0.08 | IAI | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,067 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, IAI and VFH hold 17% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
17% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
IAI and VFH on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
IAI and VFH are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. IAI follows Dow Jones U.S. Select Investment Services Index and VFH follows MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Financials 25/50.
- Holdings in common. 17% 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 IAI returned +2.3% and VFH +7.5% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 5.2 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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IAI
IAI tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +2.3% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.37% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 88% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 36 positions, with the top ten at 74.5%. It sat 9.5% below its high of Sep 3, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
VFH
VFH tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +7.5% with distributions reinvested, against +7.6% for its benchmark, the MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Financials 25/50. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 83% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 425 positions, with the top ten at 48.2%. It sat 4.4% below its high of Sep 3, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, IAI or VFH?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IAI returned +2.3% and VFH +7.5%.
- Which is cheaper, IAI or VFH?
- VFH is cheaper, by 0.28 percentage points a year. That is about $28 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, IAI against VFH, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iai-vs-vfh
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). IAI against VFH. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iai-vs-vfh
[IAI against VFH (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iai-vs-vfh)
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