Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
MSTY vs VTI: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, MSTY returned −43.4% to VTI's +13.5%, and VTI charges 0.03% to MSTY's 0.99%.
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Net assets: $1.0bn on Oct 27, 2026 for YieldMax MSTR Option Income Strategy ETF, and $689.2bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF.
Pair scorecard
VTI costs 0.96 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 56.9 points.
| Measure | MSTY | VTI |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | −43.4% | +13.5% |
| Price change, 1 year | fell 75.2% | rose 12.2% |
| Latest payout, annualized | 60.3% | |
| Return of capital, issuer estimate | 14% of the Oct 30, 2026 payment | |
| Against its benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Benchmark: MicroStrategy (MSTR) | Morningstar US Total Market Index |
| Against its benchmark, same days | ahead by 5.6 pts | |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.99% | 0.03% |
| Net assets, MSTY as of Oct 27, 2026 and VTI as of Sep 30, 2026 | $1.0bn | $689.2bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
| In the S&P 500, by weight | 88% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 34.7% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 28, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Mar 1, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026 · 138 weekly returnsVTI returned more: +51.4% to +36.1%. VTI swung less: 14.5% to 61.8%. VTI fell less at its worst: −17.4% to −76.2%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | MSTY | VTI | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +36.1% | +51.4% | VTI | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +12.3% | +16.9% | VTI | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | −89.1% | +46.3% | VTI | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 61.8% | 14.5% | VTI | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 40.0% | 9.6% | VTI | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −76.2% | −17.4% | VTI | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.42 | 0.85 | VTI | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.65 | 1.29 | VTI | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.16 | 0.97 | VTI | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 138 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, MSTY and VTI hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 28, 2026.
half
0% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
MSTY and VTI on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ. Cash paid: distributions over the window, as a share of the starting price.
MSTY and VTI do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. MSTY is measured against MicroStrategy (MSTR) and VTI follows Morningstar US Total Market Index.
- Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 28, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 MSTY returned −43.4% and VTI +13.5% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 56.9 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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MSTY
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, MSTY paid 33.4% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 75.2%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned −43.4%. MicroStrategy (MSTR) returned −49.0% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 5.6 pts. At its price on Oct 28, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 60.3%, paid weekly. YieldMax estimates that 14% of the distribution paid Oct 30, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice). That is a tax label, not a measure of erosion.
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 MSTY and VTI in the same category?
- MSTY is an option-income 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, MSTY or VTI?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, MSTY returned −43.4% and VTI +13.5%.
- Which is cheaper, MSTY or VTI?
- VTI is cheaper, by 0.96 percentage points a year. That is about $96 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, MSTY against VTI, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/msty-vs-vti
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). MSTY against VTI. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/msty-vs-vti
[MSTY against VTI (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/msty-vs-vti)
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