Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
IDEF vs VTI: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IDEF returned −5.7% to VTI's +13.5%, and VTI charges 0.03% to IDEF's 0.55%.
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Net assets: $3.7bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares Defense Industrials and Tech Active ETF, and $689.2bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF.
Pair scorecard
VTI costs 0.52 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 19.2 points; VTI is far larger, $689.2bn against $3.8bn.
| Measure | IDEF | VTI |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | −5.7% | +13.5% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its all-time high | 17.0%, high on Mar 2, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Defense | Morningstar US Total Market Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.55% | 0.03% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $3.8bn | $689.2bn |
| Active share vs the S&P 500 | 92% | |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 8% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 37% | 34.7% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
May 30, 2025 to Oct 23, 2026 · 73 weekly returnsVTI returned more: +30.9% to +14.9%. VTI swung less: 11.5% to 22.4%. VTI fell less at its worst: −8.3% to −17.1%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | IDEF | VTI | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +14.9% | +30.9% | VTI | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +10.4% | +21.1% | VTI | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +14.5% | +28.7% | VTI | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 22.4% | 11.5% | VTI | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 14.7% | 6.6% | VTI | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −17.1% | −8.3% | VTI | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.38 | 1.38 | VTI | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.58 | 2.43 | VTI | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.61 | 2.56 | VTI | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 73 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, IDEF and VTI hold 8% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
8% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
IDEF and VTI on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
IDEF and VTI do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. IDEF follows Defense and VTI follows Morningstar US Total Market Index.
- Holdings in common. 8% 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 IDEF returned −5.7% and VTI +13.5% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 19.2 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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IDEF
By weight, 42% of IDEF'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 37% of the fund across 155 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 the fund returned −5.7% with distributions reinvested. It sits 17.0% below its all-time high of Mar 2, 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 IDEF and VTI in the same category?
- IDEF 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, IDEF or VTI?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IDEF returned −5.7% and VTI +13.5%.
- Which is cheaper, IDEF or VTI?
- VTI is cheaper, by 0.52 percentage points a year. That is about $52 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, IDEF against VTI, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/idef-vs-vti
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). IDEF against VTI. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/idef-vs-vti
[IDEF against VTI (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/idef-vs-vti)
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