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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SLV returned +14.9% and VXUS +13.8%.

Which is cheaper, SLV or VXUS?

VXUS is cheaper, by 0.45 percentage points a year. That is about $45 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 VXUS: Differences, Returns & Fees

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SLV is a commodity fund and VXUS an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, SLV returned +14.9% against +13.8%.

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Net assets: $26.9bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares Silver Trust, and $163.2bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Total International Stock ETF.

SLV on its own →VXUS on its own →

At a glance

+14.9%

SLV total return, 1 year

+13.8%

VXUS total return, 1 year

0.50%

SLV expense ratio

0.05%

VXUS expense ratio

Pair scorecard

VXUS costs 0.45 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.1 points; VXUS is 5.4 times larger.

SLV vs VXUS: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	SLV	VXUS
Return
Measure	SLV	VXUS
Total return, 1 year	+14.9%	+13.8%
Drawdown
Measure	SLV	VXUS
Below its high	53.5%, high on Jan 28, 2026	5.1%, high on Sep 4, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	SLV	VXUS
What it tracks	Silver	FTSE Global All Cap ex US Index
Cost and size
Measure	SLV	VXUS
Expense ratio	0.50%	0.05%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026	$30.0bn	$163.2bn
Holdings
Measure	SLV	VXUS
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight		0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		14.6%

Method

Risk and return

Feb 4, 2011 to Oct 23, 2026 · 820 weekly returns

SLV VXUS

Return

Total return edge VXUS +71.5% +158.2%

Annualized edge VXUS +3.5% +6.2%

Price return edge SLV +71.5% +62.6%

Risk

Volatility edge VXUS 31.0% 16.5%

Max drawdown edge VXUS −75.2% −34.6%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge VXUS 0.21 0.35

Sortino edge VXUS 0.31 0.49

Calmar edge VXUS 0.05 0.18

Reading

VXUS returned more: +158.2% to +71.5%. VXUS swung less: 16.5% to 31.0%. VXUS fell less at its worst: −34.6% to −75.2%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: SLV vs VXUS: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	SLV	VXUS	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+71.5%	+158.2%	VXUS	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+3.5%	+6.2%	VXUS	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+71.5%	+62.6%	SLV	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	31.0%	16.5%	VXUS	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	21.6%	11.8%	VXUS	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−75.2%	−34.6%	VXUS	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.21	0.35	VXUS	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.31	0.49	VXUS	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.05	0.18	VXUS	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 820 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

Side by side

SLV iShares Silver Trust VXUS Vanguard Total International Stock ETF

Where it sits Commodity ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares Vanguard

What it is Holds silver Tracks an index of Total International Stock

Total return, 1 year +14.9% +13.8%

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% 0.05%

Holdings not counted 8913

Net assets, SLV as of Oct 28, 2026 and VXUS as of Sep 30, 2026 $26.9bn $163.2bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-61EA762ADF

SLV and VXUS do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

What each follows. SLV follows Silver and VXUS follows FTSE Global All Cap ex US Index.
Cost. SLV charges 0.50% of assets a year and VXUS 0.05%, a gap of 0.45 points.
Size. SLV has $30.0bn in net assets and VXUS $163.2bn (net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026); VXUS is 5.4 times larger.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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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.

VXUS

VXUS tracks an index of Total International Stock. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.8% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.05% 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 8,913 positions, with the top ten at 14.6%. It sat 5.1% below its high of Sep 4, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, SLV or VXUS?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SLV returned +14.9% and VXUS +13.8%.
Which is cheaper, SLV or VXUS?: VXUS is cheaper, by 0.45 percentage points a year. That is about $45 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.

Other comparisons

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

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

iShares page for SLV ↗

VXUS filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

VXUS prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for VXUS ↗

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

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

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