Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
VCIT vs VCSH: Differences, Returns & Fees
On May 31, 2026 VCIT's duration was 6.0 years and VCSH's 2.7; both charge 0.03%.
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Net assets on Sep 30, 2026: $66.6bn for Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond ETF and $43.9bn for Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond ETF.
Pair scorecard
Both cost 0.03% a year; their one-year returns differ by 3.1 points; VCIT is 1.5 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | VCIT | VCSH |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | −1.8% | +1.3% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 3.2%, high on Feb 27, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Bloomberg U.S. 5-10 Year Corporate Bond Index | Bloomberg U.S. 1-5 Year Corporate Bond Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.03% | 0.03% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $66.6bn | $43.9bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 1% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated May 31, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Dec 4, 2009 to Oct 23, 2026 · 881 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: VCIT against SCHI, Oct 18, 2019 to Oct 23, 2026; VCSH against SCHJ, Oct 18, 2019 to Oct 23, 2026.
VCIT returned more: +96.4% to +59.9%. VCSH swung less: 3.5% to 6.4%. VCSH fell less at its worst: −11.3% to −20.0%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | VCIT | VCSH | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +96.4% | +59.9% | VCIT | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +4.1% | +2.8% | VCIT | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +5.1% | +2.8% | VCIT | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 6.4% | 3.5% | VCSH | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 4.7% | 2.5% | VCSH | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −20.0% | −11.3% | VCSH | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 99.2% | 98.3% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 99.6% | 98.3% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 1.00 | 0.95 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 1.00 | 0.99 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.42 | 0.37 | VCIT | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.57 | 0.52 | VCIT (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | −0.008 | −0.003 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.20 | 0.25 | VCSH | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | SCHI | SCHJ | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | 0.0% a year | 0.0% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −0.22 | −0.29 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −0.4% to +0.3% | −0.4% to +0.3% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | −0.08 | −0.06 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 0.5% | 0.5% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 881 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, VCIT and VCSH hold 1% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated May 31, 2026.
half
1% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
VCIT and VCSH on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
VCIT and VCSH do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. VCIT follows Bloomberg U.S. 5-10 Year Corporate Bond Index and VCSH follows Bloomberg U.S. 1-5 Year Corporate Bond Index.
- Holdings in common. 1% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated May 31, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 VCIT returned −1.8% and VCSH +1.3% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 3.1 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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VCIT
VCIT tracks an index of Intermediate-Term Corporate Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −1.8% with distributions reinvested, against −1.8% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. 5-10 Year Corporate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. It sat 3.2% below its high of Feb 27, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
VCSH
VCSH tracks an index of Short-Term Corporate Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +1.3% with distributions reinvested, against +1.3% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. 1-5 Year Corporate Bond Index.
Questions people ask
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How this is computed
Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.
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ETFIQ, VCIT against VCSH, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vcit-vs-vcsh
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). VCIT against VCSH. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vcit-vs-vcsh
[VCIT against VCSH (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vcit-vs-vcsh)
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