Which returned more over the last year, SLV or VEA?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SLV returned +14.9% and VEA +17.1%.

Which is cheaper, SLV or VEA?

VEA 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 own filings.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

SLV vs VEA: Differences, Returns & Fees

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SLV is a commodity fund and VEA an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, VEA returned +17.1% against +14.9%.

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Net assets: $26.9bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares Silver Trust, and $231.6bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF.

SLV on its own →VEA on its own →

At a glance

+14.9%

SLV total return, 1 year

+17.1%

VEA total return, 1 year

0.50%

SLV expense ratio

0.03%

VEA expense ratio

Pair scorecard

VEA costs 0.47 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 2.2 points; VEA is 7.7 times larger.

SLV vs VEA: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	SLV	VEA
Return
Measure	SLV	VEA
Total return, 1 year	+14.9%	+17.1%
Drawdown
Measure	SLV	VEA
Below its high	53.5%, high on Jan 28, 2026	4.4%, high on Aug 25, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	SLV	VEA
What it tracks	Silver	FTSE Developed All Cap ex US Index
Cost and size
Measure	SLV	VEA
Expense ratio	0.50%	0.03%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026	$30.0bn	$231.6bn
Holdings
Measure	SLV	VEA
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight		0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		13.6%

Method

Side by side

SLV iShares Silver Trust VEA Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares Vanguard

What it is Holds silver Tracks an index of Developed markets ex US

Total return, 1 year +14.9% +17.1%

Its benchmark over the same days +15.0% (SIVR) not measured

Gap to its benchmark −0.1 pts vs SIVR not measured

Expense ratio 0.50% 0.03%

Holdings not counted 3906

Net assets, SLV as of Oct 28, 2026 and VEA as of Sep 30, 2026 $26.9bn $231.6bn

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

Alert

About each fund

SLV

Its expense ratio is 0.50% a year, for the three months to Jun 30, 2026, as its 10-Q states.

SLV holds silver. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +14.9% with distributions reinvested, against +15.0% for its benchmark, the price of silver. It sat 53.5% below its high of Jan 28, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

VEA

VEA tracks an index of Developed markets ex US. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +17.1% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 3,906 positions, with the top ten at 13.6%. It sat 4.4% below its high of Aug 25, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, SLV or VEA?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SLV returned +14.9% and VEA +17.1%.
Which is cheaper, SLV or VEA?: VEA 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 own filings.

Other comparisons

ACWX vs SLV FENI vs SLV IEFA vs SLV SLV vs VXUS GLDM vs VEA IAU vs VEA GLD vs VEA BWET vs VEA

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

iShares page for SLV ↗

VEA filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

VEA prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for VEA ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

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ETFIQ, SLV against VEA, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/slv-vs-vea

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