Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
VB vs VHT: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, VB returned +14.4% to VHT's +25.0%; 14% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets on Sep 30, 2026: $76.9bn for Vanguard Morningstar Small-Cap ETF and $19.1bn for Vanguard Health Care ETF.
Pair scorecard
VB costs 0.06 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 10.6 points; VB is 4.0 times larger.
| Measure | VB | VHT |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +14.4% | +25.0% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 5.7%, high on Aug 14, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Morningstar US Small Cap Index | MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Health Care 25/50 |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.03% | 0.09% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $76.9bn | $19.1bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 14% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 5.9% | 51.8% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Feb 6, 2004 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,185 weekly returnsVHT returned more: +797.6% to +705.5%. VHT swung less: 16.4% to 21.5%. VHT fell less at its worst: −38.1% to −58.8%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | VB | VHT | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +705.5% | +797.6% | VHT | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +9.6% | +10.1% | VHT (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +482.0% | +552.3% | VHT | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 21.5% | 16.4% | VHT | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 15.1% | 11.6% | VHT | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −58.8% | −38.1% | VHT | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.45 | 0.56 | VHT | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.64 | 0.79 | VHT | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.16 | 0.27 | VHT | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,185 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, VB and VHT hold 14% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026.
half
14% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
VB and VHT on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
VB and VHT do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. VB follows Morningstar US Small Cap Index and VHT follows MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Health Care 25/50.
- Holdings in common. 14% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Sep 30, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 VB returned +14.4% and VHT +25.0% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 10.6 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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VB
VB tracks an index of Small-Cap. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +14.4% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 22% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 1,303 positions, with the top ten at 5.9%. It sat 5.7% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
VHT
VHT tracks an index of Health Care. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +25.0% with distributions reinvested, against +25.4% for its benchmark, the MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Health Care 25/50. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 86% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 414 positions, with the top ten at 51.8%.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, VB or VHT?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, VB returned +14.4% and VHT +25.0%.
- Which is cheaper, VB or VHT?
- VB is cheaper, by 0.06 percentage points a year. That is about $6 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, VB against VHT, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vb-vs-vht
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