# How Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/vti
> Data as of October 20, 2026. Total returns include reinvested dividends. Past performance does not predict future results; nothing here is investment advice.

Built by QuantCommons' quantitative engine, this page is about relative opportunity, not data on VTI alone. It places VTI (Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF) against 20+ popular alternatives, its neighboring categories and the entire market of over 10,000 U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs, and surfaces what has done better on consistent outperformance, return for the risk taken, behavior in real market crashes and diversification. The result is a clearer view of where VTI stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: VTI's full trading record, from May 2001 through September 2026. The crash tests reach back to 2000 using older funds and the S&P 500. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 20, 2026.

## Key findings

- **Right now:** VTI sits 1.6% below its record high.
- **Long term:** Over the past decade, VTI returned 302%, ahead of 90% of the ETFs with at least $100 million in assets.
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** PRF (Invesco RAFI US 1000 ETF) earned more than VTI with less volatility over the past 5 years: 13.0% a year at 15.0% volatility, against 11.5% a year at 17.5%.
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** PVAL (Putnam Focused Large Cap Value ETF, US large-cap value) and MGV (Vanguard Morningstar Mega Cap Value ETF, US large-cap value) earned more than VTI with less volatility over the past 5 years. PVAL returned 16.1% a year at 15.1% volatility, against 11.5% a year at 17.5%.
  - **Whole market:** Few investments have done better on both counts: only 45 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than VTI with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them EFV (iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF), FNDX (Schwab Fundamental U.S. Large Company ETF) and FNDF (Schwab Fundamental International Large Company Index ETF).

## How much would $10,000 in VTI have grown?

This chart tracks a hypothetical $10,000 investment in VTI over the past 22 years, with dividends reinvested, alongside the same amount in the S&P 500, investments that ended ahead of VTI over the same span and VTI's popular alternatives, among those that traded for the entire period.

- $10,000 invested in VTI at the end of September 2004 would have grown to $103,071 by September 2026, about the same as the $102,174 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Five of the eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of VTI, and NVDA finished highest, at $20,721,476.

## VTI at a glance

This section summarizes the key facts about the fund, its returns over periods from one to ten years and the risk it has carried, with dividends reinvested throughout.

- VTI's deepest decline since it began trading in 2001 was 55.5%, from October 2007 to March 2009. It took about three years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 24 full calendar years, VTI's best was 2013, when it returned 33.4%, and its worst was 2008, when it lost 37.0%. It lost money in four of those years.
- VTI is 1.6% below its all-time high.

- Type: ETF, Broad Market (Asset Management - Global)
- Trading since: May 31, 2001
- Assets: $2.3T
- Expense ratio: 0.03%
- Volatility (5 years): 17.5%; Sharpe ratio: 0.71
- Worst decline ever: −55.5%, from October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009; back at its high by March 13, 2012

| Period | VTI total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | −0.8% |
| 3 months | +3.2% |
| 6 months | +8.3% |
| year to date | +13.1% |
| 1 year | +15.2% |
| 3 years | +87.9% |
| 5 years | +72.6% |
| 10 years | +302% |

## VTI against the whole market

Where VTI ranks among every stock and fund, and what across the market has done better.

### How does VTI rank among all ETFs?

This section ranks VTI on return, volatility, risk-adjusted return and worst decline against every ETF worth at least $100 million with enough history.

- VTI's 10-year return ranks in the top 10% of the 958 ETFs with at least $100 million in assets with 10 years of history.

| Measure | VTI | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +15.2% | 791 of 2,485 (top 32%) |
| 3-year return | +87.9% | 392 of 1,949 (top 21%) |
| 5-year return | +72.6% | 343 of 1,560 (top 22%) |
| 10-year return | +302% | 94 of 958 (top 10%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 17.5% | 910 of 1,560 (top 59%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.71 | 499 of 1,560 (top 32%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −35.0% | 349 of 951 (top 37%) |

### What has beaten VTI on both return and risk?

Each dot is an investment, placed by how much it earned a year over the past 5 years (higher is better) and how much its price swung, its volatility (further left is calmer).

- 45 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than VTI over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 1% of the 3,633 screened. Few investments beat it on both counts.
- Among those with at least half VTI's swings, LVHI has the best return for its risk: 17.0% a year at 11.1% volatility, 37% less than VTI's 17.5%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.48 against 0.71 for VTI.
- Among VTI's popular alternatives, PRF is in the region. PRF earned 13.0% a year against 11.5% a year for VTI, at 15.0% volatility, 14% less than VTI's 17.5%.

### Is there a better investment than VTI?

The table below lists investments that beat VTI over the past 5 years on at least one of these measures: a higher annual return with lower volatility, a higher annual return at similar volatility, a similar return with lower volatility, a higher Sharpe ratio with a smaller worst decline, a higher total return in most periods from 3 months to 10 years, or smaller losses in recent market crashes, and, for funds, the same exposure at a lower expense ratio.

- Among VTI's popular alternatives, PRF earned more than VTI with less volatility over the past 5 years: 13.0% a year at 15.0% volatility, against 11.5% a year at 17.5%.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, PVAL (US large-cap value) and MGV (US large-cap value) earned more than VTI with less volatility over the past 5 years. PVAL returned 16.1% a year at 15.1% volatility, against 11.5% a year at 17.5%.
- Few investments have done better on both counts: only 45 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than VTI with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them EFV, FNDX and FNDF.

The 15 strongest of 45 investments that beat VTI over the past 5 years, out of 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million.

| Investment | Group | Annual return (5 years) | Volatility | Sharpe | Worst decline (10 years) | 10Y return | Correlation with VTI | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| VTI: Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF (this page) |  | +11.5% | 17.5% | 0.71 | −35.0% | +302% |  |  |
| QVML: Invesco S&P 500 QVM Multi-factor ETF | Broad Market | +13.0% | 16.6% | 0.82 | −23.5% | — | 0.99 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | International Equity | +17.0% | 11.1% | 1.48 | −32.4% | +194% | 0.55 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| PVAL: Putnam Focused Large Cap Value ETF | US Large-Cap Value | +16.1% | 15.1% | 1.07 | −41.3% | — | 0.89 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| DFIV: Dimensional - International Value ETF | International Equity | +14.8% | 16.4% | 0.93 | −25.4% | — | 0.66 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| DIVB: iShares Core Dividend ETF | Dividend & Income | +13.9% | 15.4% | 0.93 | −36.9% | — | 0.87 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| FYLD: Cambria Foreign Shareholder Yield ETF | Dividend & Income | +13.1% | 16.0% | 0.85 | −44.6% | +203% | 0.60 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| DIVI: Franklin International Core Dividend Tilt Index ETF | International | +13.4% | 15.5% | 0.89 | −27.7% | +184% | 0.73 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| SIXA: ETC 6 Meridian Mega Cap Equity ETF | Broad Market | +12.8% | 12.7% | 1.01 | −18.4% | — | 0.83 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| FNDF: Schwab Fundamental International Large Company Index ETF | International Equity | +13.6% | 16.3% | 0.87 | −40.2% | +194% | 0.72 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| HDV: iShares Core High Dividend ETF | US Dividend Equity | +12.9% | 13.0% | 1.00 | −37.0% | +172% | 0.59 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| FDVV: Fidelity High Dividend ETF | US Dividend Equity | +13.2% | 14.6% | 0.92 | −40.2% | +253% | 0.90 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| DBEF: Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF | International Equity | +13.1% | 13.8% | 0.96 | −32.5% | +206% | 0.82 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| FDL: First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund | US Dividend Equity | +13.9% | 14.4% | 0.98 | −41.4% | +199% | 0.58 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| JQUA: JPMorgan U.S. Quality Factor ETF | US Quality Equity | +13.6% | 15.7% | 0.89 | −32.9% | — | 0.97 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| IDV: iShares International Select Dividend ETF | International Equity | +12.8% | 15.5% | 0.86 | −42.5% | +159% | 0.58 | Higher return, lower volatility |

## VTI against its popular alternatives

The investments people most often weigh against VTI, compared period by period and year by year.

### How do VTI's risk and return compare with its alternatives?

This map plots each investment's annual return over the past 5 years against its volatility, the size of its typical price swings.

- Six of the 15 popular alternatives, led by PRF, VV and SPTM, were both more rewarding and calmer than VTI over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- Over the past 5 years, VTI returned 11.5% a year, less than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (17.5% against 17.1%).

### Has VTI consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

This section compares VTI with the investments people most often weigh against it, checking each one over eight periods from one month to ten years.

- Four of the 23 popular alternatives, led by SPYM, VOO and IVV, outperformed VTI in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- SPYM, VOO and IVV earned more for the risk they took than VTI (a higher Sharpe ratio) and fell less in their worst decline of the past 10 years.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of VTI | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| VTI: Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF (this page) | +15.2% | +87.9% | +72.6% | +302% |  |  | 0.71 |
| [SPYM](https://easycompare.io/research/spym): State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF | +15.9% | +89.8% | +82.5% | +324% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.80 |
| [VOO](https://easycompare.io/research/voo): Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | +15.8% | +89.7% | +82.3% | +324% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.80 |
| [IVV](https://easycompare.io/research/ivv): iShares Core S&P 500 ETF | +15.8% | +89.7% | +82.3% | +324% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.80 |
| [SPY](https://easycompare.io/research/spy): State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF | +15.8% | +89.3% | +81.7% | +321% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.79 |
| [VV](https://easycompare.io/research/vv): Vanguard Morningstar Large-Cap ETF | +15.4% | +90.6% | +78.8% | +324% | 2/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.76 |
| VONE: Vanguard Russell 1000 ETF | +15.2% | +88.5% | +75.9% | +312% | 1/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.75 |
| [SCHX](https://easycompare.io/research/schx): Schwab U.S. Large-Cap ETF | +15.1% | +89.1% | +76.6% | +317% | 0/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.75 |
| PRF: Invesco RAFI US 1000 ETF | +25.5% | +90.1% | +84.3% | +270% | 5/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.90 |
| SPTM: State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 1500 Composite Stock Market ETF | +15.7% | +87.2% | +78.6% | +310% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.77 |
| [IWB](https://easycompare.io/research/iwb): iShares Russell 1000 ETF | +15.1% | +87.7% | +75.1% | +309% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.74 |
| [DFAC](https://easycompare.io/research/dfac): Dimensional - US Core Equity 2 ETF | +17.7% | +82.3% | +71.5% | — | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.72 |
| [RSP](https://easycompare.io/research/rsp): Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF | +15.5% | +65.4% | +48.6% | +211% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.57 |
| ESGU: iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF | +15.6% | +88.3% | +72.4% | — | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.72 |
| ESGV: Vanguard ESG U.S. Stock ETF | +14.9% | +89.8% | +70.7% | — | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.67 |
| [ITOT](https://easycompare.io/research/itot): iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF | +15.2% | +88.0% | +72.7% | +301% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.72 |
| VTHR: Vanguard Russell 3000 ETF | +15.2% | +87.6% | +73.1% | +300% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.72 |
| IWV: iShares Russell 3000 ETF | +15.0% | +86.9% | +72.0% | +297% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.72 |
| [SCHB](https://easycompare.io/research/schb): Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF | +15.2% | +88.0% | +72.9% | +286% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.72 |
| [VT](https://easycompare.io/research/vt): Vanguard Total World Stock ETF | +15.0% | +83.8% | +63.3% | +223% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.69 |
| [VXF](https://easycompare.io/research/vxf): Vanguard Extended Market ETF | +9.9% | +75.1% | +27.2% | +194% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.33 |
| [IWM](https://easycompare.io/research/iwm): iShares Russell 2000 ETF | +12.3% | +71.3% | +29.0% | +158% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.34 |
| [VXUS](https://easycompare.io/research/vxus): Vanguard Total International Stock ETF | +14.6% | +77.2% | +48.6% | +140% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.57 |
| [BND](https://easycompare.io/research/bnd): Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF | −2.1% | +15.7% | −1.8% | +13.2% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.03 |

### How did VTI do year by year?

This table shows each investment's total return in every full calendar year since 2002, along with where VTI ranked among its popular alternatives each year.

- VTI finished ahead of the S&P 500 in nine of its 24 full calendar years, and behind it in each of the last two.
- Among its popular alternatives, ESGV came out ahead of VTI most often, in five of the seven years both traded.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, VTI finished in the top quarter in one of 22 years and in the bottom quarter in no. In 2025, it ranked 6 of 16.

| Year | VTI | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +17.1% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +23.8% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +26.0% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −19.5% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +25.7% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +21.1% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +30.7% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | −5.2% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +21.2% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +12.8% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How VTI has fallen, how it held up in crashes beside the S&P 500 and its popular alternatives, and what moves independently of it.

### What were VTI's worst declines?

A drawdown is the decline from a peak to the lowest point before a new high.

- In four of VTI's five worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- The slowest recovery came after VTI fell 55.5% from October 2007 to March 2009; it did not regain that peak until March 2012, three years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −55.5% | October 9, 2007 | March 9, 2009 | March 13, 2012 | −55.2% | 2008 financial crisis |
| −37.0% | June 5, 2001 | October 9, 2002 | November 4, 2004 | −38.1% | dot-com bust |
| −35.0% | February 19, 2020 | March 23, 2020 | August 12, 2020 | −33.7% | Covid crash |
| −25.4% | January 3, 2022 | October 12, 2022 | December 19, 2023 | −24.5% | 2022 bear market |
| −20.0% | September 20, 2018 | December 24, 2018 | April 23, 2019 | −19.4% | late-2018 sell-off |

### How did VTI do in stock market crashes?

This section measures how far VTI, the S&P 500 and each alternative fell from peak to trough during every major market crash since 2000.

- VTI fell further than the S&P 500 in six of the nine crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the 2011 euro debt crisis, when VTI fell 19.5% and the S&P 500 fell 17.9%.
- Among its popular alternatives, BND held up best, falling less than VTI in all nine crashes they both traded through.

| Crash | Dates | VTI fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | not trading | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −55.5% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −1.9% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −19.5% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −14.1% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −6.3% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −20.0% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −35.0% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −25.2% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −4.0% | −3.4% |

### How closely does VTI move with the S&P 500?

Upside capture measures how much of the S&P 500's gains an investment kept in the months the market rose, and downside capture how much of its losses it took in the months the market fell.

- Only VV, VONE and SPTM had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than VTI's 0.97, out of 12 popular alternatives with the same record.
- Over the past 10 years, VTI captured 100% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 103% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 1.02. Its share of the market's losses was slightly larger than its share of the gains.

Measured over the past 10 years of monthly returns against SPY.

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| VTI: Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF (this page) | 100% | 103% | 1.02 |
| [VV](https://easycompare.io/research/vv): Vanguard Morningstar Large-Cap ETF | 101% | 101% | 1.01 |
| VONE: Vanguard Russell 1000 ETF | 100% | 102% | 1.02 |
| PRF: Invesco RAFI US 1000 ETF | 93.0% | 98.0% | 0.97 |
| SPTM: State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 1500 Composite Stock Market ETF | 99.0% | 101% | 1.01 |
| [RSP](https://easycompare.io/research/rsp): Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF | 92.0% | 107% | 1.01 |
| [ITOT](https://easycompare.io/research/itot): iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF | 100% | 103% | 1.02 |
| [SCHB](https://easycompare.io/research/schb): Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF | 99.0% | 104% | 1.03 |
| [VT](https://easycompare.io/research/vt): Vanguard Total World Stock ETF | 90.0% | 98.0% | 0.94 |
| [VXF](https://easycompare.io/research/vxf): Vanguard Extended Market ETF | 100% | 123% | 1.19 |
| [IWM](https://easycompare.io/research/iwm): iShares Russell 2000 ETF | 98.0% | 129% | 1.17 |
| [VXUS](https://easycompare.io/research/vxus): Vanguard Total International Stock ETF | 76.0% | 91.0% | 0.82 |
| [BND](https://easycompare.io/research/bnd): Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF | 13.0% | 19.0% | 0.15 |

### What diversifies VTI?

Correlation measures how closely two investments move together, on a scale from 1 (in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to -1 (in opposite directions).

- Moving a fifth of the money in VTI into DBMF would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 23% over the past 5 years while keeping its annual return (+12.6% for VTI alone, +12.5% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, GLD, XLE and AMLP have moved largely independently of VTI over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.47 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- Among large stocks, CAH, MCK and MPC have moved largely independently of VTI over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.30 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.

| Investment | Correlation with VTI | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in VTI's 4 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.16 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 1 of 4 |
| [XLE](https://easycompare.io/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.29 | +177% | 25.5% | 0.93 | 1 of 4 |
| AMLP: Alerian MLP ETF | 0.47 | +111% | 18.9% | 0.89 | 1 of 4 |
| DBMF: iMGP DBi Managed Futures Strategy ETF | -0.26 | +59.7% | 12.4% | 0.82 | 1 of 4 |
| DBA: Invesco DB Agriculture Fund | 0.17 | +66.4% | 13.8% | 0.81 | 1 of 4 |
| IHE: iShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF | 0.49 | +81.2% | 16.8% | 0.80 | 0 of 4 |
| PPH: VanEck Pharmaceutical ETF | 0.49 | +72.8% | 15.8% | 0.78 | 1 of 4 |
| GDX: VanEck Gold Miners ETF | 0.28 | +181% | 38.2% | 0.73 | 0 of 4 |

## Common questions

### What was VTI's worst drawdown?

VTI's deepest decline since it began trading in 2001 was 55.5%, from October 2007 to March 2009. It took about three years from the low to climb back to its old high.

### What were VTI's best and worst years?

Over 24 full calendar years, VTI's best year was 2013, when it returned 33.4%. Its worst was 2008, with a return of -37.0%.

### Is there a better investment than VTI?

Among VTI's popular alternatives, PRF earned more than VTI with less volatility over the past 5 years: 13.0% a year at 15.0% volatility, against 11.5% a year at 17.5%. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, PVAL (US large-cap value) and MGV (US large-cap value) earned more than VTI with less volatility over the past 5 years. PVAL returned 16.1% a year at 15.1% volatility, against 11.5% a year at 17.5%.

### Is VTI more volatile than the S&P 500?

VTI's volatility over the past 5 years was 17.5%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, VTI's return lands within 17.5% of its average, either way. The higher it is, the rougher the ride and the harder it is to hold through a slump.

### What is VTI's Sharpe ratio?

VTI's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.71. The Sharpe ratio is the return earned above cash for each unit of volatility: two investments with the same return are not equal if one got there with far bigger swings.

### What are the best alternatives to VTI?

Of the 23 popular alternatives we compared, four outperformed VTI in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: SPYM, VOO and IVV.

### Did VTI outperform the S&P 500?

VTI finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in nine of 24 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +17.1%, against +17.7% for the index.

### How did VTI do in stock market crashes?

VTI fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in none of the nine major crashes it has traded through, and further in six. The clearest case was the 2011 euro debt crisis, when VTI fell 19.5% and the S&P 500 fell 17.9%.

### What diversifies VTI?

These had a low correlation with VTI over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, GLD (correlation 0.16), XLE (correlation 0.29) and AMLP (correlation 0.47); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.30), MCK (correlation 0.19) and MPC (correlation 0.26). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

- [State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF (SPYM) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/spym)
- [Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/voo)
- [iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/ivv)
- [State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/spy)
- [Vanguard Morningstar Large-Cap ETF (VV) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/vv)
- [Schwab U.S. Large-Cap ETF (SCHX) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/schx)
- [iShares Russell 1000 ETF (IWB) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/iwb)
- [Dimensional - US Core Equity 2 ETF (DFAC) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/dfac)
- [Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/rsp)
- [iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF (ITOT) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/itot)
- [Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF (SCHB) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/schb)
- [Vanguard Total World Stock ETF (VT) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/vt)

## Explore further

- Full page with charts: https://easycompare.io/research/vti
- All research pages: https://easycompare.io/llms.txt
- Compare the entire market against VTI live: https://betterthanspy.com/?b=VTI&utm_source=easycompare&utm_medium=research