Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
VT vs XBI: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, VT returned +13.5% to XBI's +41.2%, and VT charges 0.06% to XBI's 0.35%.
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Net assets: $81.8bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Total World Stock Index ETF, and $10.3bn on Oct 27, 2026 for State Street SPDR S&P Biotech ETF.
Pair scorecard
VT costs 0.29 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 27.7 points; VT is 7.9 times larger.
| Measure | VT | XBI |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +13.5% | +41.2% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its all-time high | 8.9%, high on Feb 8, 2021 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | FTSE Global All Cap Index | Biotech |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.06% | 0.35% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $81.8bn | $10.4bn |
| Active share vs the S&P 500 | 98% | |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 1% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 22.5% | 18% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Jul 3, 2008 to Oct 23, 2026 · 955 weekly returnsXBI returned more: +695.8% to +371.6%. VT swung less: 18.3% to 30.2%. VT fell less at its worst: −48.3% to −61.5%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | VT | XBI | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +371.6% | +695.8% | XBI | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +8.8% | +12.0% | XBI | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +221.4% | +663.3% | XBI | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 18.3% | 30.2% | VT | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 13.1% | 20.5% | VT | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −48.3% | −61.5% | VT | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.48 | 0.48 | Tie | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.66 | 0.70 | XBI (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.18 | 0.19 | XBI (slight) | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 955 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, VT and XBI hold 1% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
1% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
VT and XBI on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
VT and XBI do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. VT follows FTSE Global All Cap Index and XBI follows Biotech.
- Holdings in common. 1% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 VT returned +13.5% and XBI +41.2% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 27.7 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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VT
VT tracks an index of Total World Stock. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.5% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.06% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 55% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 10,194 positions, with the top ten at 22.5%.
XBI
By weight, 13% of XBI's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 98%. The top ten holdings are 18% of the fund across 165 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 the fund returned +41.2% with distributions reinvested. It sits 8.9% below its all-time high of Feb 8, 2021.
Questions people ask
- Are VT and XBI in the same category?
- VT is a stock ETF and XBI is a thematic ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
- Which returned more over the last year, VT or XBI?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, VT returned +13.5% and XBI +41.2%.
- Which is cheaper, VT or XBI?
- VT is cheaper, by 0.29 percentage points a year. That is about $29 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, VT against XBI, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vt-vs-xbi
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). VT against XBI. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vt-vs-xbi
[VT against XBI (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vt-vs-xbi)
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