USOY vs VTI: Performance, Holdings, Fees & Risk

USOY and VTI are ETFs, but they can differ materially in exposure, yield, fees and risk. USOY is Oil Enhanced Options Income ETF, while VTI is Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF. VTI is broader by holdings count, with 3,524 positions versus 15 for USOY. VTI has the lower expense ratio. Current AlgovestIQ evidence has VTI ahead on AIQ Score, 60 versus 55.

Market data as of Oct 21, 2026 market close· Fund characteristics as of Oct 21, 2026
USOY
Defiance
vs
VTI
Vanguard
USOY
Oil Enhanced Options Income ETF
Issuer
Defiance
Inception
2024-05-09
VTI
Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF
Issuer
Vanguard
Inception
2001-05-24

What is the main difference between USOY and VTI?

VTI holds 3,524 positions to USOY's 15, and 0% of their weight is in the same securities.

Expense ratio
USOY
1.12%
VTI
0.03%
Lower annual fund costVTI
Holdings
USOY
15
VTI
3,524
Broader reported basketVTI
1Y return
USOY
+8.2%
VTI
+15.8%
Trailing performanceVTI
Annualized volatility
USOY
37.2%
VTI
13%
Lower realized volatilityVTI
MetricUSOYVTI
Fund
Expense ratio1.12%0.03%
Holdings153,524
Distribution yieldTrailing 12 months48.72%1.05%
Average volume416,9503,115,564
Performance
1Y return+8.2%+15.8%
YTD return+18.1%+12.5%
Risk
Annualized volatility37.2%13%
Max drawdown (1Y)-31.6%-9.2%
Beta-0.991.02
Sharpe ratio0.310.86
Sortino ratio0.421.32
AlgovestIQ
AIQ Score55/10060/100
AIQ Edge Score5/108/10
Momentum75/10051/100
Risk Resilience32/10086/100

AlgovestIQ AIQ Comparison

Oil Enhanced Options Income ETF vs Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF

Data as of Oct 21, 2026· market close· Coverage 63/66 fields· High confidence
AIQ VerdictFragileAIQ Comparison Conviction 4/10

VTI leads

VTI leads by 5 AIQ points, primarily on Risk Resilience and Quality, but the lead has narrowed from 22 points over 30 sessions.

Fragile: 2 of 3 evidence groups support VTI, its lead is narrowing, and its current signal state is conflicted.

Evidence agreement: 2 of 3Comparison trend: Weakening
USOY

Oil Enhanced Options Income ETF

AIQ Score
55/100
AIQ Edge Score
5/10
VTI

Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF

Leads
AIQ Score
60/100
AIQ Edge Score
8/10

The Algovestiq AIQ Score currently favors VTI over USOY, 60 versus 55 as of Oct 21, 2026. VTI's advantage is driven primarily by stronger risk resilience and quality, while USOY holds the stronger momentum profile. VTI also shows the weaker technical structure relative to its 50-day moving average. 2 of 3 covered evidence groups favor VTI today, and the comparison is rated Fragile on stability: the AIQ gap is narrow at 5 points. VTI lead: Weakening — the AIQ differential moved from 22 to 5 points over 30 sessions.

Compare Oil Enhanced Options Income ETF and Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF across performance, expense ratio, dividend yield, drawdown, volatility and the Algovestiq AIQ Score.

USOY vs VTI: which fits what

Each row is settled by a single measure. Where the gap is too small to matter it reads Similar, and no row decides the comparison as a whole.

If you wantUSOYVTIFits
Lower costExpense ratio1.12%0.03%VTI
Broader diversificationNumber of holdings153,524VTI
Higher incomeTrailing 12-month distribution yield48.72%1.05%USOY
Smaller drawdownsMax drawdown, 1 year-31.6%-9.2%VTI
Lower volatilityAnnualized volatility, 1 year37.2%13%VTI

Similar means the gap is within 0.01 percentage points of expense ratio, 25% more holdings, 3 points of top-10 weight, 0.2 points of yield, 2 points of drawdown or 1 point of volatility. Past drawdowns and volatility describe the funds’ history, not their future.

Currently unavailable

Performance over time

Total return with distributions reinvested, from daily closes for both ETFs.

USOY
+72.0%
VTI
+50.7%

Total return comparison

Growth of $10,000, distributions reinvested

USOY $17,197 · VTI $15,066

Split-adjusted closes; each distribution is reinvested at the close on its ex-dividend date. Taxes and trading costs are not modeled.

Compare USOY and VTI against another ticker

Open a multi-ticker workspace without changing this focused pair page.

Basic: 2 symbols·Explorer: 3 symbols·Pro and Premium: 5 symbols·Your limit: 2

AIQ Factor Divergence

Where the two separate, on the four dimensions behind the AIQ Score. Bars read outward from a shared zero: further from the centre is a wider gap.

USOY advantage
0
VTI advantage
  • Risk Resilience32 vs 86
    VTI +54
  • Quality49 vs 74
    VTI +25
  • Momentum75 vs 51
    USOY +24

2 of 3 evidence groups favor VTI. VTI’s edge is concentrated in risk resilience and quality; USOY keeps a meaningful momentum edge.

What changed since the last close

Latest scored session 2026-10-20, compared against the prior scored session 2026-10-19.

USOY-1 AIQ

Largest factor move: Momentum -3

No signal started or stopped since the prior session; its 2 active signals are unchanged.

VTI+1 AIQ

Largest factor move: Momentum +4

No signal started or stopped since the prior session; its 5 active signals are unchanged.

VTI's lead widened by 2 AIQ points in the latest session.

Deeper signal detail for each name lives on its own signals page — USOY and VTI both carry a full feed there.

The central trade-off

VTI (Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF): the stronger current systematic profile, led by risk resilience and quality.

USOY (Oil Enhanced Options Income ETF): the counter-case, on momentum — but at materially higher volatility, 26.5% against 9.8%.

Fund facts, side by side

Two funds tracking overlapping universes are separated by cost and risk far more than by holdings. Those lead here.

MeasureUSOYVTIWhy it matters
Expense ratio1.12%0.03%Lower is better — it compounds against you every year you hold.
Holdings153,524More holdings means broader diversification, not better returns.
Average volume416,9503,115,564Liquidity — matters most if you trade size.
Annualized volatility37.2%13%Lower is a steadier ride for the same exposure.
Max drawdown (1Y)-31.6%-9.2%The worst peak-to-trough loss over the past year.
Sharpe ratio0.310.86Return per unit of risk. Higher is better.
Beta-0.991.02Sensitivity to the broad market. Neither direction is better — it depends on the role in your portfolio.

Where the exposure actually sits

Sector exposure for each fund, ordered by the size of the difference.

Cash & Others100.0% vs 0.2%
Technology0.0% vs 38.2%
Financial Services0.0% vs 11.6%
Healthcare0.0% vs 9.9%
Communication Services0.0% vs 9.1%
Industrials0.0% vs 8.5%
Consumer Cyclical0.0% vs 8.5%
Consumer Defensive0.0% vs 4.2%
USOYVTI

How much of the same holdings they own

USOY and VTI share 0% of their weighted exposure across 0 common holdings.

6 holdings are unique to USOY, and 3,499 holdings are unique to VTI. Owning both is genuinely additive — most of the capital sits in different securities.

What USOY adds that VTI doesn’t

HoldingUSOYVTI
United States Treasury Bill 07/08/202732.04%Not held
United States Treasury Bill 02/18/202720.08%Not held
United States Treasury Note/Bond 2.375% 05/15/202715.42%Not held
United States Treasury Bill 12/10/20268.81%Not held
United States Treasury Bill 10/15/20266.75%Not held
First American Government Obligations Fund 12/01/20311.22%Not held

What VTI adds that USOY doesn’t

HoldingVTIUSOY
NVDANVIDIA Corp6.4%Not held
AAPLApple Inc6.29%Not held
MSFTMicrosoft Corp4.79%Not held
AMZNAmazon.com Inc3.65%Not held
GOOGLAlphabet Inc2.9%Not held
AVGOBroadcom Inc2.56%Not held

Each list is a fund’s largest positions by weight that the other fund does not hold, or holds at less than half the weight.

AIQ Agreement Matrix

2 of 3 covered evidence groups favor VTI. A wide gap backed by one group is a weaker case than a narrow gap backed by five.

Evidence groupFavorsReading
AIQ ScoreVTI55 vs 60
FundamentalsNot coveredNot covered
ValuationNot coveredNot covered
TechnicalsEvenPrice vs 50-day 3.9% vs 0.2%; vs 200-day 1.1% vs 5.3%
Risk ResilienceVTIRisk Resilience 32 vs 86
Analyst expectationsNot coveredNot covered

✓ agrees with the overall verdict · ✕ points the other way. Groups marked “not covered” lack data on one or both of USOY and VTI and are excluded from the count.

AIQ Decision Stability

Fragile

The conclusion is sensitive to small changes. Treat the lead as provisional and watch the flip conditions below.

  • The AIQ gap is narrow at 5 points. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
  • The leader's advantage has been narrowing. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
  • The lead has swung materially session to session. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
  • The leader is throwing conflicting signals. (argues the conclusion is provisional)

Stability combines the score gap, how broadly the evidence agrees, how steady the lead has been across daily snapshots, the current signal state on both names, and analyst dispersion on VTI.

How the comparison changed

45 daily snapshots · Sep 6 – Oct 20

VTI lead: Weakening — the AIQ differential moved from 22 to 5 points over 30 sessions.

Sep 6USOY leads above the line · VTI leads belowOct 20
Today
VTI +5
55 vs 60
7 sessions ago
VTI +10
49 vs 59
30 sessions ago
VTI +22
38 vs 60
90 sessions ago
Not covered

The lead has not changed hands in this window.

AIQ Signal Divergence

Only the signals that bear on the head-to-head. A conflicted name is carrying bullish and bearish rules at the same time — the technical evidence is not pointing one way.

USOYConflicted

1 bullish / 1 bearish, conflicted

Only USOY

  • Death Cross Active — bearish, trend, long horizon (2.92%)
  • MACD Bullish Crossover — bullish, momentum, short horizon
VTIConflicted

2 bullish / 1 bearish / 2 neutral, conflicted

Only VTI

  • Golden Cross Active — bullish, trend, long horizon (5.66%)
  • ATR Contraction - Coiling — neutral, volatility, short horizon (0.96%)
  • EMA Ribbon Compression — neutral, trend, medium horizon
  • 52-Week High Proximity — bullish, risk, long horizon (1.7%)
  • MACD Bearish Crossover — bearish, momentum, short horizon

VTI leads the comparison while carrying a conflicted signal state, which is one reason the stability rating is not higher.

Price vs model alignment

Whether the latest session's price move confirms what the model did over the same session, or contradicts it.

USOYConfirmed weakness

Price and the AIQ Score both moved down over the latest session (price -0.2%, AIQ -1 points).

VTIConfirmed strength

Price and the AIQ Score both moved up over the latest session (price +0.55%, AIQ +1 points).

What would flip this result

A state, not a forecast. These are the specific, observable changes that would reverse the verdict — not a price prediction.

  1. 1USOY closes the Risk Resilience gap — currently 54 points behind, the largest single contributor to VTI's edge.
  2. 2USOY's Death Cross Active resolves — a bearish trend rule currently active against it.
  3. 3VTI's conflicting signal state resolves bearish — it currently carries 2 bullish and 1 bearish rules at once.
  4. 4The narrowing continues — the lead has already given back 17 points over 30 sessions, and a further 5-point move would eliminate VTI's advantage entirely.

The full evidence

Every number behind the verdict. The leader is called above each group so you are not left to solve it from the table.

Performance

Split across windows
MetricUSOYVTI
1 week (5 sessions)2.2%-1.1%
1 month (20 sessions)5.2%-1.1%
3 months (63 sessions)1.7%2.2%
6 months (126 sessions)-9.5%8.4%
Year to date18.1%12.5%
1 year (252 sessions)8.2%15.8%

Technicals

Split
MetricUSOYVTI
RSI (14)66.355.2
ADX (14)11.113.4
Price vs 50-day3.9%0.2%
Price vs 200-day1.1%5.3%
Volatility (1M, annualized)26.5%9.8%

Risk

VTI is the more resilient
MetricUSOYVTI
Beta-0.991.02
Sharpe ratio0.310.86
Sortino ratio0.421.32
Max drawdown-31.6%-9.2%
Current drawdown-18.2%-1.9%
Annualized volatility37.2%13%
Value at risk (95%)-3.9%-1.4%

Straight answers

Short answers to the questions fund investors ask about this pair, from the figures above.

What is the difference between USOY and VTI?

VTI holds 3,524 positions to USOY's 15, and 0% of their weight is in the same securities.

How much do USOY and VTI overlap?

USOY and VTI share 0% of their weighted exposure across 0 common holdings. 6 holdings are unique to USOY, and 3,499 holdings are unique to VTI. Owning both is genuinely additive — most of the capital sits in different securities.

Which ETF is more diversified, USOY or VTI?

VTI holds more positions: 3,524 versus 15 for USOY.

Which has the lower expense ratio?

VTI has the lower expense ratio, 0.03% a year against 1.12% for USOY.

Which ETF has the higher distribution yield?

USOY, with a trailing 12-month distribution yield of 48.72% against 1.05% for VTI.

Which ETF has been more volatile?

USOY has been more volatile over the past year, at 37.2% annualized against 13% for VTI.

Which ETF has had the smaller drawdown?

VTI fell less from peak to trough over the past year: -9.2% against -31.6% for USOY.

Compare USOY and VTI with others

Continue your research

This page answers which of the two. These answer the questions on either side of it.

How this comparison is scored

The Algovestiq AIQ Score composites four factors — Quality, Value, Momentum and Risk, each carrying a fixed weight. Sentiment is reported separately as SentimentPulse and is not folded into the composite. Scores refresh every trading day, and this page regenerates from the latest snapshot rather than being written once.

The verdict names a leader, states how broadly six independent evidence groups agree, and rates how durable that conclusion is given the score gap, its recent trajectory and the current signal state on both names.

How to use side-by-side comparison →

This comparison is informational and educational, not investment advice. AIQ scores update daily; re-check after earnings, guidance or macro data that materially changes either name’s factor profile.