Are SHLD and VTI in the same category?

SHLD 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, SHLD or VTI?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SHLD returned −6.5% and VTI +13.5%.

Which is cheaper, SHLD or VTI?

VTI is cheaper, by 0.47 percentage points a year. That is about $47 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

How much do SHLD and VTI overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 45% of SHLD and 88% of VTI by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

SHLD vs VTI: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, SHLD returned −6.5% to VTI's +13.5%, and VTI charges 0.03% to SHLD's 0.50%.

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Net assets: $6.3bn on Oct 12, 2026 for Global X Defense Tech ETF, and $689.2bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF.

SHLD on its own →VTI on its own →

At a glance

−6.5%

SHLD total return, 1 year

+13.5%

VTI total return, 1 year

0.50%

SHLD expense ratio

0.03%

VTI expense ratio

Pair scorecard

VTI costs 0.47 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 20.0 points.

SHLD vs VTI: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	SHLD	VTI
Return
Measure	SHLD	VTI
Total return, 1 year	−6.5%	+13.5%
Drawdown
Measure	SHLD	VTI
Below its all-time high	18.6%, high on Mar 9, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	SHLD	VTI
What it tracks	Defense	Morningstar US Total Market Index
Cost and size
Measure	SHLD	VTI
Expense ratio	0.50%	0.03%
Net assets, SHLD as of Oct 12, 2026 and VTI as of Sep 30, 2026	$6.3bn	$689.2bn
Active share vs the S&P 500	99%
Holdings
Measure	SHLD	VTI
Holdings in common	1%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	59%	34.7%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026. Method

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, SHLD and VTI hold 1% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

1% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first SHLD VTI

PALANTIR TECHNOLOGIES INC. 7.07% 0.56%

RTX CORPORATION 7.75% 0.34%

LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION 8.41% 0.16%

GENERAL DYNAMICS CORPORATION 7.67% 0.12%

Northrop Grumman Corporation 4.23% 0.09%

L3HARRIS TECHNOLOGIES, INC. 4.69% 0.06%

LEIDOS HOLDINGS, INC. 2.77% 0.02%

BWX TECHNOLOGIES, INC. 3.05% 0.02%

MOOG INC. 1.70% 0.01%

HUNTINGTON INGALLS INDUSTRIES, INC. 2.04% 0.01%

KRATOS DEFENSE & SECURITY SOLUTIONS, INC. 1.81% 0.01%

AEROVIRONMENT, INC. 1.32% 0.01%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in SHLD

Rheinmetall Aktiengesellschaft 5.76%

BAE SYSTEMS PLC 4.88%

HANWHA AEROSPACE CO., LTD. 4.40%

LEONARDO - SOCIETA PER AZIONI 4.35%

THALES SA 4.27%

ELBIT SYSTEMS LTD 4.13%

SAAB Aktiebolag 3.82%

KOREA AEROSPACE INDUSTRIES, LTD. 1.34%

Only in VTI

NVIDIA Corp 7.14%

Apple Inc 6.63%

Microsoft Corp 5.20%

Amazon.com Inc 3.30%

Alphabet Inc 2.76%

Broadcom Inc 2.28%

Meta Platforms Inc 2.18%

Alphabet Inc 2.18%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

SHLD Global X Defense Tech ETF VTI Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF

Where it sits Thematic ETF Stock ETF

Issuer Global X Vanguard

What it is Defense Tracks an index of US total market

Total return, 1 year −6.5% +13.5%

Expense ratio 0.50% 0.03%

Already in the S&P 500 44.6% 88.1%

Holdings 48 3521

Net assets, SHLD as of Oct 12, 2026 and VTI as of Sep 30, 2026 $6.3bn $689.2bn

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

Alert

About each fund

SHLD

By weight, 45% of SHLD's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 99%. The top ten holdings are 59% of the fund across 48 positions, as filed for May 31, 2026. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 the fund returned −6.5% with distributions reinvested. It sits 18.6% below its all-time high of Mar 9, 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 SHLD and VTI in the same category?: SHLD 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, SHLD or VTI?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SHLD returned −6.5% and VTI +13.5%.
Which is cheaper, SHLD or VTI?: VTI is cheaper, by 0.47 percentage points a year. That is about $47 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do SHLD and VTI overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 45% of SHLD and 88% of VTI by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

SHLD vs VOO IVV vs SHLD QQQ vs SHLD SHLD vs VUG IDEF vs VTI VTI vs XAR ITA vs VTI PPA vs VTI

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

SHLD filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

SHLD prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Global X page for SHLD ↗

VTI filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

VTI prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for VTI ↗

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.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, SHLD against VTI, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/shld-vs-vti

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