IXUS vs VXUS: Fees, Returns & Holdings Compared

	Expense ratio	Net assets	Yield (TTM)	Overlap	1 yr	5 yr*
IXUS	0.07%	$58.39B	3.03%	at least 69%	+13.8%	+8.0%
VXUS	0.05%	$645.86B	2.42%		+12.9%	+8.1%

At a glance

At least 69% of IXUS’s and VXUS’s holdings overlap by weight. IXUS is an ordinary open-end ETF and VXUS a share class of Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund, which also sells mutual fund shares. VXUS costs less: 0.05% a year against 0.07% for IXUS, or $50 against $70 on every $100,000. IXUS has $58.39B in assets and VXUS $645.86B (all share classes); over the past 12 months IXUS paid out 3.03% of its price and VXUS 2.42%. Over the past year IXUS returned +13.8% and VXUS +12.9% with distributions reinvested; over five years, +8.0% and +8.1% a year. In the 2022 bear market IXUS fell 28.9% at its worst and VXUS 28.4%; IXUS was back at its earlier high 19 months after the low, VXUS 18 months.

Key differences

	IXUS	VXUS
Fund	iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF	Vanguard Total International Stock ETF
Issuer	iShares	Vanguard
Structure	Open-end ETF	ETF share class
Type	Developed and emerging markets	Developed and emerging markets
Launched	Oct 18, 2012	Jan 26, 2011
Expense ratio	0.07%	0.05%
Cost a year on $100,000	$70	$50
Net assets	$58.39B	$645.86B *
Holdings	4,525	8,779
Ten largest positions	13.6%	13.2%
Yield (12 months)	3.03%	2.42%
Pays	semiannual	quarterly
Portfolio turnover	3% a year	4% a year
Price data from	Oct 24, 2012	Jan 28, 2011

* VXUS’s net assets are those of Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund, all share classes.

Holdings and overlap

Overlap by weightat least 69%the share of each fund in holdings both own

Securities in commonat least 571IXUS 4,525 · VXUS 8,779 in all

Ten largest positions13.6% / 13.2%of assets, IXUS / VXUS

Overlap adds up, for every security both funds own, the smaller of its two weights: 100% would mean identical portfolios. The holdings reports list IXUS and VXUS beyond their 600 largest positions only (73% of IXUS, 71% of VXUS), so the figures are floors.

Largest holdings

Holding	IXUS	VXUS
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited	4.29%	4.10%
Samsung Electronics Co Ltd	1.92%	1.83%
ASML Holding NV	1.50%	1.45%
Tencent Holdings Ltd	0.88%	0.87%
ROYAL BANK OF CANADA	0.69%	0.67%
Novartis AG	0.68%	0.66%

No large holding differs by as much as half a percentage point between the two.

Source: N-PORT holdings reports as of Jul 31, 2026 for both funds.

Returns

IXUS VXUS · $10,000 in each on Oct 31, 2012, distributions reinvested.

$10,000 put into IXUS on Oct 31, 2012 was worth $27,804 on Oct 30, 2026, and in VXUS $27,972 (+7.6% and +7.6% a year). That is as far back as the price data for both goes.

	1 yr	3 yr	5 yr	10 yr
IXUS price data to Nov 2, 2026	+13.8%	+19.5%	+8.0%	+9.3%
IXUS official prospectus, to Dec 31, 2024	+5.15%	—	+4.17%	+5.03%
VXUS price data to Oct 30, 2026	+12.9%	+20.3%	+8.1%	+9.1%
VXUS official prospectus, to Dec 31, 2025	+32.23%	—	+7.98%	+8.55%

Multi-year figures are annualized total returns with distributions reinvested. "Official" rows are the SEC-standard returns from each fund's prospectus, to the end of the last calendar year; they reach back further where the price data starts late.

Calendar years

Year	IXUS	VXUS	Difference
2026	+10.8% *	+10.0% *	IXUS +0.8
2025	+32.4%	+32.4%	—
2024	+5.2%	+5.1%	IXUS +0.2
2023	+15.9%	+15.9%	—
2022	-16.4%	-16.1%	VXUS +0.4
2021	+8.9%	+9.0%	VXUS +0.1
2020	+10.8%	+10.7%	IXUS +0.1
2019	+21.7%	+21.8%	VXUS +0.1
2018	-14.4%	-14.4%	—
2017	+28.1%	+27.5%	IXUS +0.7

Total returns from price data; * year to Oct 30, 2026.

Downturns and recovery

	IXUS	VXUS
2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009	Before it launched	Before it launched
2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020	−33.7% at the worst; back at its high 8 months after the low	−33.3% at the worst; back at its high 8 months after the low
2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022	−28.9% at the worst; back at its high 19 months after the low	−28.4% at the worst; back at its high 18 months after the low
Worst fall in the price data	−36.2% (Jan 26, 2018 – Mar 23, 2020)	−36% (Jan 26, 2018 – Mar 23, 2020)

The deepest drop from a high to a low during each stretch when stocks fell, and how long the fund took to get back to its earlier high, with distributions reinvested. The price data starts Oct 24, 2012 for IXUS and Jan 28, 2011 for VXUS.

Income

IXUS yield (12 months)3.03%paid semiannual

VXUS yield (12 months)2.42%paid quarterly

Year	IXUS	VXUS
2025	$414	$407
2024	$339	$340
2023	$351	$365
2022	$203	$252
2021	$329	$327
2020	$200	$232
2019	$366	$362
2018	$250	$264

Distributions paid during each calendar year on $10,000 of shares bought at the previous year-end close, adjusted for share splits. Before taxes.

Costs

VXUS charges 0.05% a year and IXUS 0.07%: on $100,000 that is $20 a year less with VXUS ($100 on $500,000). The fee comes out of each fund's assets, so it is already in the returns above.

Cost of $10,000 (SEC example)	1 yr	3 yrs	5 yrs	10 yrs
IXUS	$7	$23	$40	$90
VXUS	$5	$16	$28	$64

From each fund's prospectus: the total costs on $10,000 invested, at a 5% yearly return, with the shares sold at the end of each period.

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