# VTI ETF: fees, returns, drawdowns and holdings

> What VTI holds, its 0.03% yearly fee, returns by year, its worst drop, and which Tactfolio strategies hold it. Updated daily.

Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) run by Vanguard. This fund owns shares in thousands of US companies, from very large to very small. It charges 0.03% a year. From June 2001 to October 2026 it returned about 9.7% a year, and its worst drop was −55.5%.

Written by [the Tactfolio research team](https://tactfolio.com/about/editorial-policy). Fund facts checked October 16, 2026. Prices through October 16, 2026.

## Key points

- Expense ratio: 0.03% a year (about $3 on $10,000).
- Started trading on May 24, 2001.
- Last close: $374.07 on October 16, 2026.
- Return over the last year: 16.1%.
- Worst drop since 2001: −55.5%.
- 5 Tactfolio classic strategies hold it.

## How has VTI done since 2001?

From June 2001 to October 2026, VTI returned about 9.7% a year. The S&P 500 returned about 9.4% a year over the same dates. Say you put in $10,000 at the start. It would have been worth about $104,717 at the end, with every dividend reinvested.

| Period | VTI | S&P 500 (SPY) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 month | 1.0% | 1.5% |
| 3 months | 1.2% | 1.9% |
| 6 months | 8.7% | 9.3% |
| Year to date | 12.5% | 12.8% |
| 1 year | 16.1% | 16.8% |
| 3 years, per year | 21.6% | 22.0% |
| 5 years, per year | 11.7% | 12.8% |
| 10 years, per year | 14.9% | 15.4% |
| Since 2001, per year | 9.7% | 9.4% |

Periods longer than a year show the return per year (CAGR). Prices through October 16, 2026. Figures use daily closing prices adjusted for splits, with dividends reinvested. They do not include taxes or the cost of buying and selling. Past results do not tell you what will happen next.

## VTI returns by month and year

VTI rose in 198 of its 305 months (65%). Its best month was April 2020, at 13.1%. Its worst was October 2008, at −17.5%.

| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Full year |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026 (part) | 1.6% | −0.5% | −5.0% | 10.4% | 5.2% | −0.4% | −0.5% | 2.7% | −0.8% | −0.1% |  |  | 12.5% |
| 2025 | 3.0% | −1.9% | −5.9% | −0.7% | 6.3% | 5.2% | 2.3% | 2.4% | 3.4% | 2.2% | 0.3% | 0.0% | 17.1% |
| 2024 | 1.1% | 5.3% | 3.3% | −4.3% | 4.8% | 3.1% | 1.9% | 2.1% | 2.0% | −0.8% | 6.7% | −3.0% | 23.8% |
| 2023 | 6.9% | −2.4% | 2.7% | 1.1% | 0.4% | 6.7% | 3.7% | −1.9% | −4.8% | −2.6% | 9.4% | 5.3% | 26.1% |
| 2022 | −6.1% | −2.5% | 3.3% | −9.1% | −0.3% | −8.2% | 9.3% | −3.7% | −9.2% | 8.1% | 5.2% | −5.9% | −19.5% |
| 2021 | −0.3% | 3.1% | 3.6% | 5.0% | 0.5% | 2.5% | 1.7% | 2.9% | −4.5% | 6.7% | −1.5% | 3.8% | 25.7% |
| 2020 | −0.1% | −8.0% | −13.9% | 13.1% | 5.4% | 2.3% | 5.7% | 7.1% | −3.5% | −1.9% | 11.8% | 4.7% | 21.1% |
| 2019 | 8.5% | 3.6% | 1.4% | 3.9% | −6.5% | 7.1% | 1.4% | −2.1% | 1.8% | 2.1% | 3.8% | 2.8% | 30.7% |
| 2018 | 5.2% | −3.8% | −2.0% | 0.4% | 2.7% | 0.7% | 3.3% | 3.4% | 0.2% | −7.4% | 2.0% | −9.2% | −5.2% |
| 2017 | 1.9% | 3.7% | 0.1% | 1.1% | 1.0% | 0.9% | 1.9% | 0.1% | 2.4% | 2.2% | 3.0% | 1.2% | 21.2% |
| 2016 | −5.7% | 0.0% | 7.1% | 0.7% | 1.7% | 0.3% | 4.0% | 0.2% | 0.2% | −2.2% | 4.5% | 2.0% | 12.8% |
| 2015 | −2.7% | 5.7% | −1.2% | 0.6% | 1.3% | −1.7% | 1.7% | −6.1% | −2.9% | 7.9% | 0.6% | −2.1% | 0.4% |
| 2014 | −3.2% | 4.9% | 0.5% | 0.1% | 2.1% | 2.6% | −2.0% | 4.2% | −2.1% | 2.8% | 2.5% | 0.0% | 12.6% |
| 2013 | 5.4% | 1.3% | 4.0% | 1.6% | 2.4% | −1.4% | 5.8% | −3.0% | 3.9% | 4.3% | 2.7% | 2.7% | 33.5% |
| 2012 | 5.1% | 4.2% | 3.1% | −0.6% | −6.2% | 4.0% | 0.9% | 2.7% | 2.5% | −1.8% | 0.8% | 1.3% | 16.4% |
| 2011 | 2.1% | 3.7% | 0.4% | 2.9% | −1.1% | −1.8% | −2.3% | −6.1% | −7.6% | 11.4% | −0.4% | 1.0% | 1.0% |
| 2010 | −3.6% | 3.4% | 6.4% | 2.2% | −7.9% | −5.8% | 7.0% | −4.7% | 9.5% | 4.0% | 0.5% | 7.0% | 17.4% |
| 2009 | −8.1% | −10.5% | 8.3% | 11.0% | 5.5% | 0.4% | 7.7% | 3.7% | 4.1% | −2.6% | 5.7% | 2.9% | 28.9% |
| 2008 | −6.2% | −2.5% | −0.9% | 4.9% | 2.0% | −8.1% | −0.6% | 1.5% | −9.2% | −17.5% | −8.0% | 1.8% | −37.0% |
| 2007 | 1.9% | −1.6% | 1.1% | 4.0% | 3.7% | −1.8% | −3.5% | 1.5% | 3.9% | 1.8% | −4.5% | −0.7% | 5.4% |
| 2006 | 3.2% | 0.2% | 2.1% | 1.0% | −3.2% | 0.1% | −0.1% | 2.3% | 2.3% | 3.5% | 2.3% | 1.2% | 15.7% |
| 2005 | −2.5% | 2.1% | −1.9% | −2.2% | 3.9% | 0.8% | 4.4% | −1.1% | 0.8% | −2.4% | 4.6% | 0.0% | 6.3% |
| 2004 | 2.6% | 1.4% | −1.0% | −2.2% | 1.5% | 2.0% | −3.6% | 0.1% | 1.7% | 1.8% | 4.7% | 3.4% | 12.8% |
| 2003 | −2.8% | −1.5% | 0.8% | 8.6% | 5.8% | 1.6% | 2.3% | 2.4% | −1.1% | 6.0% | 1.5% | 4.0% | 30.7% |
| 2002 | −0.9% | −1.8% | 3.7% | −4.5% | −1.4% | −6.9% | −8.3% | 0.8% | −10.1% | 7.5% | 6.0% | −5.1% | −20.5% |
| 2001 (part) |  |  |  |  |  | 1.8% | −1.9% | −5.9% | −8.7% | 2.1% | 7.6% | 1.4% | −4.4% |

Each month runs from the last close of the month before. The first month counts from the first close.

## How risky is VTI compared with the S&P 500?

Measured from October 2021 to October 2026, on the days both traded.

- **Beta 1.02.** When the S&P 500 moved 1% in a day, VTI tended to move about 1.02%.
- **Correlation 1.00.** VTI mostly moved with the S&P 500.
- **Up and down months.** In months the S&P 500 rose, VTI rose 98% as much on average. In months it fell, VTI fell 104% as much.

| Measure | VTI | S&P 500 (SPY) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Return per year | 11.6% | 12.8% |
| Volatility | 17.5% | 17.1% |
| Worst drop | −25.4% | −24.5% |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.72 | 0.79 |
| Sortino ratio | 1.04 | 1.15 |
| Calmar ratio | 0.46 | 0.52 |

Volatility is how much the price swings in a year. The Sharpe ratio is return per unit of volatility, the Sortino ratio counts only the falls, and the Calmar ratio is the return per year over the worst drop. Higher ratios mean more return for the risk taken.

## Is VTI above its 200-day average?

VTI closed 5.1% above its 200-day average on October 16, 2026. A rule that holds VTI only above that average would hold it today.

- Its 50-day average is 6.2% above its 200-day average.
- It closed 2.4% below its highest close of the last 52 weeks.

A moving average is the average close over the last so many days. Trend rules such as [the 10-month moving average strategy](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/faber-10-month-moving-average.md) hold a fund only while it is above one. You can [build that rule for VTI](https://tactfolio.com/builder) and backtest it in a minute.

## What was VTI's worst drop?

A drawdown is how far a fund falls from its last high point. VTI's worst fall was −55.5%, from October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009. It got back to that high on March 13, 2012. On October 16, 2026 it was 2.4% below its highest close.

| Drop | Started | Bottom | Back to the high | Fall took | Recovery took |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −55.5% | Oct 9, 2007 | Mar 9, 2009 | Mar 13, 2012 | 17 months | 3.0 years |
| −35.0% | Feb 19, 2020 | Mar 23, 2020 | Aug 12, 2020 | 33 days | 5 months |
| −34.7% | Jul 2, 2001 | Oct 9, 2002 | Jan 15, 2004 | 15 months | 15 months |
| −25.4% | Jan 3, 2022 | Oct 12, 2022 | Dec 19, 2023 | 9 months | 14 months |
| −20.1% | Sep 20, 2018 | Dec 24, 2018 | Apr 23, 2019 | 3 months | 4 months |

Big drops are normal for some funds. They matter because selling during a drop locks in the loss.

## What does VTI hold?

This fund owns shares in thousands of US companies, from very large to very small. It follows an index that tries to cover almost the whole US stock market. Its value rises and falls with US stocks overall.

It tracks the Morningstar US Total Market Index. It had 3,519 holdings as of September 30, 2026, according to Vanguard.

| Fact | VTI |
| --- | --- |
| Full name | Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF |
| Issuer | Vanguard |
| Expense ratio | 0.03% a year |
| Started trading | May 24, 2001 |
| Tracks | Morningstar US Total Market Index |
| Type | US stocks, ETF |
| Holdings | 3,519 holdings as of September 30, 2026 |
| Facts checked | October 16, 2026 on the [Vanguard fund page](https://investor.vanguard.com/investment-products/etfs/profile/vti) |

## What is the VTI expense ratio?

VTI charges 0.03% a year. An expense ratio is the yearly fee a fund takes to run itself. On $10,000, a 0.03% fee comes to about $3 a year. Of the 162 ETFs on Tactfolio, 85% charge more.

You never get a bill for it. The fund takes the fee out of its own value a little each day.

## Which Tactfolio strategies hold VTI?

5 classic strategies hold VTI at least some of the time. Each is a set of written rules you can open, test and copy.

- [Baby Bear Portfolio (Muscular Portfolios)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/baby-bear-portfolio.md), by Brian Livingston, 2018
- [All Weather Portfolio (Ray Dalio’s All Seasons)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/all-weather-portfolio.md), by Ray Dalio and Tony Robbins, 2014
- [Harry Browne’s Permanent Portfolio](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/permanent-portfolio.md), by Harry Browne, 1999
- [Golden Butterfly Portfolio](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/golden-butterfly-portfolio.md), by Tyler (Portfolio Charts), 2015
- [Three-Fund Portfolio (Taylor Larimore, Bogleheads)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/three-fund-portfolio.md), by Taylor Larimore, 2018

## How does VTI compare with similar ETFs?

Side-by-side pages measure both funds over the same dates:

- [VOO vs VTI](https://tactfolio.com/etf-comparisons/VOO-vs-VTI.md): the S&P 500 against the whole US stock market.
- [VT vs VTI](https://tactfolio.com/etf-comparisons/VT-vs-VTI.md): the whole world stock market against the whole US market.
- [VTI vs VXUS](https://tactfolio.com/etf-comparisons/VTI-vs-VXUS.md): US stocks against stocks from the rest of the world.

Funds that can stand in for VTI:

- [ITOT](https://tactfolio.com/etf/ITOT.md): iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF, 0.03% a year
- [SCHB](https://tactfolio.com/etf/SCHB.md): Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF, 0.03% a year
- [SPYM](https://tactfolio.com/etf/SPYM.md): State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF, 0.02% a year
- [IVV](https://tactfolio.com/etf/IVV.md): iShares Core S&P 500 ETF, 0.03% a year

See [all 8 VTI alternatives](https://tactfolio.com/alternatives/VTI.md), compared on the same dates as VTI.

## Test VTI in your own rules

Tactfolio is a platform where you build rules-based investing strategies, backtest them on decades of real prices, share them, and run them automatically in your own Alpaca account. Open the [builder](https://tactfolio.com/builder), add VTI, and see how a rule such as "hold it only above its 200-day average" would have done. Strategies run on daily prices and hold US stocks and ETFs only.

## The details

Prices come from Tactfolio's stored daily prices for VTI and SPY. Each close is adjusted for splits, and dividends are reinvested on the day the fund pays them out. CAGR is the steady yearly return that turns the starting value into the ending value. Volatility is the yearly standard deviation of daily returns. Beta and correlation compare daily returns with the S&P 500 over the same dates.

Fund facts come from Vanguard. We checked them on October 16, 2026. Read [what a backtest simulates](https://tactfolio.com/docs/backtests.md) and [how to read drawdown and CAGR](https://tactfolio.com/docs/concepts/reading-a-backtest.md) for more on these measures.

## Research and test it

- [S&P 500 index](https://tactfolio.com/learn/sp500-index): The S&P 500 tracks about 500 large US companies. Learn how stocks get in, how the index is weighted, how to invest in it, and how far it has fallen before.
- [What is an ETF](https://tactfolio.com/learn/what-is-an-etf): An ETF is a fund that trades like a stock. Learn how ETFs work, what they cost, the main types, and the risks, with SEC sources.
- [ETF screener](https://tactfolio.com/screener.md): A free ETF screener for 162 US-listed funds. Filter by type, issuer and fee, sort by returns or worst drop, and compare funds side by side.
- [ETF expense ratio](https://tactfolio.com/learn/etf-expense-ratio): What an ETF expense ratio is, how the fund charges it, and how 0.03% vs 1% adds up over 10 and 30 years, with real fund examples.
- [Backtest a portfolio](https://tactfolio.com/trading-tools/backtest-portfolio): Backtest a portfolio of US stocks and ETFs. Enter tickers and shares, pick when to rebalance, and get the results with a link to share.
- [Backtesting](https://tactfolio.com/backtesting): Free backtesting software for stocks, ETFs, and crypto perps.

## Common questions

### What is the expense ratio of VTI?

VTI charges 0.03% a year, according to Vanguard as of October 16, 2026. That is about $3 a year for every $10,000 you hold.

### When did VTI start trading?

VTI started trading on May 24, 2001. It is run by Vanguard.

### What does VTI track?

VTI tracks the Morningstar US Total Market Index. This fund owns shares in thousands of US companies, from very large to very small.

### How much has VTI returned per year?

From June 2001 to October 2026, VTI returned about 9.7% a year with dividends reinvested. Its worst drop was −55.5%. Past returns do not tell you what it will do next.

### Is VTI above its 200-day moving average?

On October 16, 2026, VTI closed 5.1% above its 200-day moving average. This page updates after each US market close.

### Which strategies use VTI?

5 of Tactfolio's classic strategies hold VTI, including Baby Bear Portfolio (Muscular Portfolios), All Weather Portfolio (Ray Dalio’s All Seasons), Harry Browne’s Permanent Portfolio.

## Sources

- [Vanguard: Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF fund page](https://investor.vanguard.com/investment-products/etfs/profile/vti)

> Not financial advice. Tactfolio is a research and automation tool. It is not a broker or a financial adviser. This page is for education only. Backtests are hypothetical. They show how rules would have done on past prices, not how they will do. All investing involves risk, including losing the money you put in.