# VXUS ETF: fees, returns, drawdowns and holdings

> What VXUS holds, its 0.05% yearly fee, returns by year, its worst drop, and which Tactfolio strategies hold it. Updated daily.

Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) run by Vanguard. This fund owns shares in thousands of companies based outside the United States. It charges 0.05% a year. From January 2011 to October 2026 it returned about 6.5% a year, and its worst drop was −36.0%.

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: 0.05% a year (about $5 on $10,000).
- Started trading on January 26, 2011.
- Last close: $83.43 on October 16, 2026.
- Return over the last year: 15.3%.
- Worst drop since 2011: −36.0%.
- 1 Tactfolio classic strategy holds it.

## How has VXUS done since 2011?

From January 2011 to October 2026, VXUS returned about 6.5% a year. The S&P 500 returned about 14.0% a year over the same dates. Say you put in $10,000 at the start. It would have been worth about $26,831 at the end, with every dividend reinvested.

| Period | VXUS | S&P 500 (SPY) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 month | −2.1% | 1.5% |
| 3 months | −0.6% | 1.9% |
| 6 months | 1.6% | 9.3% |
| Year to date | 11.4% | 12.8% |
| 1 year | 15.3% | 16.8% |
| 3 years, per year | 19.4% | 22.0% |
| 5 years, per year | 8.3% | 12.8% |
| 10 years, per year | 9.2% | 15.4% |
| Since 2011, per year | 6.5% | 14.0% |

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.

## VXUS returns by month and year

VXUS rose in 111 of its 190 months (58%). Its best month was November 2022, at 13.0%. Its worst was March 2020, at −16.3%.

| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Full year |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026 (part) | 5.6% | 5.2% | −7.9% | 7.7% | 3.6% | −0.2% | −1.1% | 3.2% | −2.5% | −1.8% |  |  | 11.4% |
| 2025 | 3.4% | 1.8% | 0.4% | 2.8% | 4.8% | 4.0% | −0.9% | 4.2% | 3.4% | 1.6% | 0.4% | 2.5% | 32.4% |
| 2024 | −1.7% | 2.9% | 3.2% | −2.3% | 4.0% | −0.8% | 2.6% | 2.4% | 2.6% | −4.5% | −0.2% | −2.9% | 5.1% |
| 2023 | 8.7% | −4.3% | 2.8% | 1.9% | −3.5% | 4.4% | 3.9% | −4.4% | −3.4% | −3.4% | 8.2% | 5.1% | 15.9% |
| 2022 | −2.8% | −2.9% | −0.3% | −6.5% | 1.5% | −7.9% | 3.6% | −4.5% | −9.9% | 3.4% | 13.0% | −2.1% | −16.1% |
| 2021 | 0.3% | 2.3% | 1.9% | 2.8% | 3.1% | −0.3% | −1.1% | 1.5% | −3.5% | 2.9% | −4.3% | 3.6% | 9.0% |
| 2020 | −3.4% | −6.6% | −16.3% | 7.6% | 5.0% | 4.2% | 4.2% | 4.4% | −1.8% | −2.3% | 12.6% | 5.8% | 10.7% |
| 2019 | 7.7% | 1.6% | 0.8% | 2.8% | −5.4% | 5.8% | −2.0% | −2.2% | 2.7% | 3.4% | 1.0% | 4.4% | 21.8% |
| 2018 | 5.7% | −5.2% | −0.4% | 0.5% | −1.6% | −2.1% | 2.5% | −2.4% | 0.2% | −8.6% | 1.7% | −5.0% | −14.4% |
| 2017 | 4.1% | 1.3% | 3.0% | 2.1% | 3.0% | 0.6% | 3.4% | 0.5% | 1.9% | 2.0% | 0.6% | 2.1% | 27.5% |
| 2016 | −5.5% | −2.5% | 8.3% | 2.2% | −1.0% | −0.9% | 4.5% | 0.4% | 1.7% | −1.9% | −2.0% | 2.0% | 4.8% |
| 2015 | 0.3% | 5.8% | −1.5% | 4.8% | −0.9% | −2.7% | −0.6% | −7.4% | −3.9% | 6.3% | −1.3% | −2.2% | −4.2% |
| 2014 | −5.4% | 5.6% | 0.5% | 1.3% | 1.9% | 1.9% | −1.7% | 1.2% | −5.0% | −0.1% | −0.5% | −3.9% | −4.7% |
| 2013 | 2.4% | −1.1% | 0.9% | 3.5% | −3.3% | −3.6% | 4.6% | −1.9% | 7.5% | 3.7% | 0.1% | 1.5% | 14.6% |
| 2012 | 7.3% | 4.6% | −0.5% | −2.1% | −10.8% | 6.0% | 0.3% | 2.6% | 3.4% | 0.8% | 2.1% | 4.9% | 18.6% |
| 2011 (part) | 1.1% | 2.3% | −0.3% | 5.2% | −3.0% | −1.2% | −1.8% | −8.5% | −12.7% | 10.3% | −2.1% | −3.0% | −14.4% |

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

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

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

- **Beta 0.77.** When the S&P 500 moved 1% in a day, VXUS tended to move about 0.77%.
- **Correlation 0.80.** VXUS mostly moved with the S&P 500.
- **Up and down months.** In months the S&P 500 rose, VXUS rose 78% as much on average. In months it fell, VXUS fell 85% as much.

| Measure | VXUS | S&P 500 (SPY) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Return per year | 8.4% | 12.8% |
| Volatility | 16.4% | 17.1% |
| Worst drop | −28.9% | −24.5% |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.58 | 0.79 |
| Sortino ratio | 0.84 | 1.15 |
| Calmar ratio | 0.29 | 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 VXUS above its 200-day average?

VXUS closed 0.8% above its 200-day average on October 16, 2026. A rule that holds VXUS only above that average would hold it today.

- Its 50-day average is 4.2% above its 200-day average.
- It closed 5.5% 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 VXUS](https://tactfolio.com/builder) and backtest it in a minute.

## What was VXUS's worst drop?

A drawdown is how far a fund falls from its last high point. VXUS's worst fall was −36.0%, from January 26, 2018 to March 23, 2020. It got back to that high on November 16, 2020. On October 16, 2026 it was 5.5% below its highest close.

| Drop | Started | Bottom | Back to the high | Fall took | Recovery took |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −36.0% | Jan 26, 2018 | Mar 23, 2020 | Nov 16, 2020 | 2.2 years | 8 months |
| −29.4% | Sep 3, 2021 | Oct 12, 2022 | May 14, 2024 | 13 months | 19 months |
| −27.0% | Apr 29, 2011 | Oct 3, 2011 | May 8, 2013 | 5 months | 19 months |
| −24.9% | Jul 3, 2014 | Feb 11, 2016 | May 2, 2017 | 19 months | 15 months |
| −13.6% | Mar 19, 2025 | Apr 8, 2025 | May 2, 2025 | 20 days | 24 days |

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

## What does VXUS hold?

This fund owns shares in thousands of companies based outside the United States. It includes companies in established markets like Europe and Japan and in growing markets like China and India. Its value can also change when foreign currencies go up or down against the dollar.

It tracks the FTSE Global All Cap ex US Index. It had 8,740 holdings as of August 31, 2026, according to Vanguard.

| Fact | VXUS |
| --- | --- |
| Full name | Vanguard Total International Stock ETF |
| Issuer | Vanguard |
| Expense ratio | 0.05% a year |
| Started trading | January 26, 2011 |
| Tracks | FTSE Global All Cap ex US Index |
| Type | International stocks, ETF |
| Holdings | 8,740 holdings as of August 31, 2026 |
| Facts checked | October 16, 2026 on the [Vanguard fund page](https://investor.vanguard.com/investment-products/etfs/profile/vxus) |

## What is the VXUS expense ratio?

VXUS charges 0.05% a year. An expense ratio is the yearly fee a fund takes to run itself. On $10,000, a 0.05% fee comes to about $5 a year. Of the 162 ETFs on Tactfolio, 77% 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 VXUS?

One classic strategy holds VXUS at least some of the time. Each is a set of written rules you can open, test and copy.

- [Three-Fund Portfolio (Taylor Larimore, Bogleheads)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/three-fund-portfolio.md), by Taylor Larimore, 2018

## How does VXUS compare with similar ETFs?

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

- [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 VXUS:

- [VEU](https://tactfolio.com/etf/VEU.md): Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US ETF, 0.04% a year
- [IXUS](https://tactfolio.com/etf/IXUS.md): iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF, 0.07% a year
- [SCHF](https://tactfolio.com/etf/SCHF.md): Schwab International Equity ETF, 0.03% a year
- [VEA](https://tactfolio.com/etf/VEA.md): Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF, 0.03% a year

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

## Test VXUS 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 VXUS, 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 VXUS 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

- [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.
- [Momentum strategy](https://tactfolio.com/learn/momentum-strategy): A momentum strategy buys recent winners by a written rule.
- [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 VXUS?

VXUS charges 0.05% a year, according to Vanguard as of October 16, 2026. That is about $5 a year for every $10,000 you hold.

### When did VXUS start trading?

VXUS started trading on January 26, 2011. It is run by Vanguard.

### What does VXUS track?

VXUS tracks the FTSE Global All Cap ex US Index. This fund owns shares in thousands of companies based outside the United States.

### How much has VXUS returned per year?

From January 2011 to October 2026, VXUS returned about 6.5% a year with dividends reinvested. Its worst drop was −36.0%. Past returns do not tell you what it will do next.

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

On October 16, 2026, VXUS closed 0.8% above its 200-day moving average. This page updates after each US market close.

### Which strategies use VXUS?

One of Tactfolio's classic strategies hold VXUS, including Three-Fund Portfolio (Taylor Larimore, Bogleheads).

## Sources

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

> 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.