Vanguard ETFs VXUS, VTI Diverge on 10-Year Returns as International Stocks Gain 10% in 2026
Updated
Updated · Forbes · May 30
Vanguard ETFs VXUS, VTI Diverge on 10-Year Returns as International Stocks Gain 10% in 2026
5 articles · Updated · Forbes · May 30
VTI has beaten VXUS over 10 years, posting 14.73% average annual returns versus 9.39%, but the gap has narrowed as VXUS rose 10% in the first four months of 2026 against VTI’s 6%.
That recent shift reflects improving conditions for non-U.S. equities: VXUS gained more than 34% over the past year, helped by changing U.S. trade policies, war spending and better macroeconomic trends in Europe.
The two funds also differ sharply in structure: VTI holds nearly 3,500 U.S. stocks, with technology at 39.3% and Nvidia plus Apple above 12%, while VXUS owns 8,770 international stocks and trades at a lower 17.5 P/E versus 26.7.
Costs are low for both—0.03% for VTI and 0.05% for VXUS—but tax treatment differs, with VXUS offering a foreign tax credit while more than 40% of its dividends are nonqualified, versus nearly 94% qualified dividends for VTI.
For portfolio strategy, the analysis frames VTI as a core U.S. holding and VXUS as a diversification tool that tends to benefit when the dollar weakens, while VTI may hold up better in global crises that boost safe-haven demand.
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