ACWI vs VTI: Correlation & Overlap
iShares MSCI ACWI ETF (ACWI) and Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) show a very strong relationship: their 3-year correlation of weekly returns is 0.97. Looking through to holdings, 63.4% of the two portfolios is the same by weight.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are ACWI and VTI?
Across a 3-year window, the weekly returns of ACWI and VTI correlate at 0.97, very strong, meaning they move nearly in lockstep. Little has changed lately, as the 1-year reading of 0.96 lands near the 3-year figure. Stretching to 5 years gives 0.97, with an annualized covariance of 195.5 %².
Within ACWI's tracked universe of 119 assets, VTI comes in at #5 by 3-year correlation. Their 12-month results are close: +22.7% for ACWI against +20.7% for VTI. The link looks structural: the rolling one-year correlation barely moved, holding between 0.96 and 0.98.
How is this computed?
Pearson correlation on weekly returns: ρ(A,B) = cov(rA, rB) / (σA · σB), over windows of 52, 156 and 260 weeks. Covariance is annualized (×52) and expressed in %². Full definitions on the methodology page.
ACWI vs VTI: side by side
| ACWI (iShares MSCI ACWI ETF) | VTI (Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +22.7% | +20.7% |
| 5-year return | +69.0% | +74.8% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 13.8% | 14.6% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.92 | 1.01 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -16.5% | -19.3% |
| Dividend yield | 1.44% | 1.06% |
| Expense ratio | 0.32% | 0.03% |
| Assets under management | $32.5B | $2,290.0B |
| Sector / category | ETF · Global | ETF · US Large Cap |
ACWI, iShares's Global Large-Stock Blend fund, carries $32.5B under management, 1590 holdings, a 0.32% expense ratio, a 1.44% trailing dividend yield. VTI, Vanguard's Large Blend fund, carries $2,290.0B under management, 3140 holdings, a 0.03% expense ratio, a 1.06% trailing dividend yield.
Portfolio overlap between ACWI and VTI
The two portfolios overlap heavily. Weighing the shared positions, 63.4% of the two funds is identical, spread across 559 common holdings. That shared book is a large part of why the returns line up.
| Common holding | Weight in ACWI | Weight in VTI |
|---|---|---|
| NVDA | 4.64% | 6.42% |
| AAPL | 4.41% | 6.31% |
| MSFT | 3.35% | 4.80% |
| AMZN | 2.41% | 3.66% |
| GOOGL | 1.91% | 2.91% |
| AVGO | 1.53% | 2.56% |
| GOOG | 1.50% | 2.32% |
| META | 1.21% | 1.70% |
| MU | 1.01% | 1.29% |
| TSLA | 0.93% | 1.22% |
| JPM | 0.92% | 1.31% |
| LLY | 0.91% | 1.36% |
| AMD | 0.75% | 1.08% |
| BRK.B | 0.67% | 1.28% |
| XOM | 0.63% | 0.90% |
Largest positions held only by ACWI: 2330 (1.79%), 005930 (0.84%), ASML (0.65%), 000660 (0.64%), HSBA (0.35%). Only by VTI: SNDK (0.25%), EA (0.07%), BRK.A (0.04%), AVB (0.04%), ATI (0.04%).
Overlap = sum of the smaller of the two weights across common holdings, from issuer disclosures as of 2026-08-26. Top 15 common positions shown.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | ACWI | VTI |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -18.4% | -19.5% |
| 2023 | +22.3% | +26.0% |
| 2024 | +17.4% | +23.8% |
| 2025 | +22.4% | +17.1% |
| 2026 | +14.9% | +14.2% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are ACWI and VTI good diversifiers for each other?
No: a correlation of 0.97 means ACWI and VTI tend to fall together, which is precisely when diversification is supposed to help. The 63.4% holdings overlap makes the redundancy concrete: much of it is the same book twice.
FAQ
What is the correlation between ACWI and VTI?
As of 2026-08-27, the correlation of weekly returns between ACWI and VTI is 0.97 over 3 years, 0.96 over 1 year and 0.97 over 5 years.
Is VTI a good diversifier for ACWI?
No: a correlation of 0.97 means ACWI and VTI tend to fall together, which is precisely when diversification is supposed to help. The 63.4% holdings overlap makes the redundancy concrete: much of it is the same book twice.
How much do ACWI and VTI overlap?
63.4% by weight, across 559 common holdings, based on issuer-disclosed portfolios as of 2026-08-26.
Use this data
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Related comparisons
Hubs: ACWI correlations · VTI correlations
