VTI vs ARKK: Performance, Holdings, Fees & Risk
VTI and ARKK are ETFs, but they can differ materially in exposure, yield, fees and risk. VTI is Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF, while ARKK is ARK Innovation ETF. VTI is broader by holdings count, with 3,524 positions versus 47 for ARKK. ARKK is more concentrated at the top, based on top-10 holdings weight. Current AlgovestIQ evidence has VTI ahead on AIQ Score, 63 versus 40.
What is the main difference between VTI and ARKK?
VTI holds 3,524 positions to ARKK's 47, and 14% of their weight is in the same securities.
| Metric | VTI | ARKK |
|---|---|---|
| Fund | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.03% | 0.75% |
| Holdings | 3,524 | 47 |
| Top-10 concentration | 33.2% | 49.4% |
| Average volume | 3,038,283 | 4,778,411 |
| Performance | ||
| 1Y return | +13.6% | -3.6% |
| YTD return | +13.1% | +12% |
| 5Y annualized returnTotal return, distributions reinvested | +11.3% | -6.9% |
| Risk | ||
| Annualized volatility | 13% | 37.4% |
| Max drawdown (1Y) | -9.2% | -28.9% |
| Max drawdown (5Y)Total return, distributions reinvested | -25.4% | -76.1% |
| Beta | 1.02 | 2.29 |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.65 | -0.02 |
| Sortino ratio | 1.00 | -0.03 |
| AlgovestIQ | ||
| AIQ Score | 63/100 | 40/100 |
| AIQ Edge Score | 8/10 | 2/10 |
| Momentum | 61/100 | 45/100 |
| Risk Resilience | 86/100 | 21/100 |
AlgovestIQ AIQ Comparison
Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF vs ARK Innovation ETF
VTI leads
VTI leads by 23 AIQ points, primarily on Risk Resilience and Value, and the lead has widened from 19 points over 30 sessions.
Stable: 3 of 4 evidence groups support VTI, its lead is widening, and its current signal state is conflicted.
Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF
ARK Innovation ETF
The Algovestiq AIQ Score currently favors VTI over ARKK, 63 versus 40 as of Oct 31, 2026. VTI's advantage is driven primarily by stronger risk resilience and value. VTI also shows the stronger technical structure relative to its 50-day moving average. 3 of 4 covered evidence groups favor VTI today, and the comparison is rated Stable on stability: the leader is throwing conflicting signals. VTI lead: Strengthening — the AIQ differential moved from 19 to 23 points over 30 sessions. VTI leads on all four AIQ factor dimensions. Value is itself one of those four, so a sweep is not explained by valuation alone — it deserves additional scrutiny for unmodeled catalysts, expectations or event risk.
Compare Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF and ARK Innovation ETF across performance, expense ratio, dividend yield, drawdown, volatility and the Algovestiq AIQ Score.
VTI vs ARKK: 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 want | VTI | ARKK | Fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lower costExpense ratio | 0.03% | 0.75% | VTI |
| Broader diversificationNumber of holdings | 3,524 | 47 | VTI |
| Lower concentrationWeight of the 10 largest holdings | 33.2% | 49.4% | VTI |
| Smaller drawdownsMax drawdown, 5 years | -25.4% | -76.1% | VTI |
| Lower volatilityAnnualized volatility, 1 year | 13% | 37.4% | 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.
Performance over time
Total return with distributions reinvested, from daily closes for both ETFs.
Total return comparison
Growth of $10,000, distributions reinvested
Split-adjusted closes; each distribution is reinvested at the close on its ex-dividend date. Taxes and trading costs are not modeled.
Compare VTI and ARKK against another ticker
Open a multi-ticker workspace without changing this focused pair page.
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.
- Risk Resilience86 vs 21VTI +65
- Value42 vs 24VTI +18
- Momentum61 vs 45VTI +16
- Quality74 vs 63VTI +11
3 of 4 evidence groups favor VTI. VTI’s edge is concentrated in risk resilience and value.
What changed since the last close
Latest scored session 2026-10-28, compared against the prior scored session 2026-10-27.
Largest factor move: Momentum +5
No signal started or stopped since the prior session; its 5 active signals are unchanged.
Largest factor move: Momentum +4
No signal started or stopped since the prior session; its 3 active signals are unchanged.
VTI's lead was unchanged in the latest session.
Deeper signal detail for each name lives on its own signals page — VTI and ARKK both carry a full feed there.
Fund facts, side by side
Two funds tracking overlapping universes are separated by cost and risk far more than by holdings. Those lead here.
| Measure | VTI | ARKK | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.03% | 0.75% | Lower is better — it compounds against you every year you hold. |
| Holdings | 3,524 | 47 | More holdings means broader diversification, not better returns. |
| Average volume | 3,038,283 | 4,778,411 | Liquidity — matters most if you trade size. |
| Annualized volatility | 13% | 37.4% | Lower is a steadier ride for the same exposure. |
| Max drawdown (1Y) | -9.2% | -28.9% | The worst peak-to-trough loss over the past year. |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.65 | -0.02 | Return per unit of risk. Higher is better. |
| Beta | 1.02 | 2.29 | Sensitivity 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.
How much of the same holdings they own
VTI and ARKK share 14.16% of their weighted exposure across 38 common holdings.
3,461 holdings are unique to VTI, and 7 holdings are unique to ARKK. Owning both is genuinely additive — most of the capital sits in different securities.
ARKK is the more concentrated of the two: its ten largest positions are 49.38% of the fund, against 33.24% for VTI (47 holdings vs 3,524). Concentration cuts both ways — it is what drives outperformance when the top names work, and what makes the drawdown deeper when they do not.
Largest shared positions
| Holding | VTI | ARKK | Shared |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVDANVIDIA Corp | 6.4% | 2.54% | 2.54% |
| AMZNAmazon.com Inc | 3.65% | 2.5% | 2.5% |
| AVGOBroadcom Inc | 2.56% | 1.76% | 1.76% |
| METAMETA PLATFORMS INC-CLASS A | 1.7% | 1.93% | 1.7% |
| GOOGAlphabet Inc | 2.31% | 1.69% | 1.69% |
| TSLATESLA INC | 1.22% | 9.75% | 1.22% |
| AMDADVANCED MICRO DEVICES | 1.08% | 2.67% | 1.08% |
| LLYEli Lilly & Co | 1.35% | 0.49% | 0.49% |
Shared weight is the lower of the two positions — the portion of capital both funds genuinely have in the same security.
What VTI adds that ARKK doesn’t
| Holding | VTI | ARKK |
|---|---|---|
| NVDANVIDIA Corp | 6.4% | 2.54% |
| AAPLApple Inc | 6.29% | Not held |
| MSFTMicrosoft Corp | 4.79% | Not held |
| GOOGLAlphabet Inc | 2.9% | 0.01% |
| LLYEli Lilly & Co | 1.35% | 0.49% |
| JPMJPMorgan Chase & Co | 1.31% | Not held |
What ARKK adds that VTI doesn’t
| Holding | ARKK | VTI |
|---|---|---|
| TSLATESLA INC | 9.75% | 1.22% |
| SPCXSPACE EXPLORATION TECHN-CL A | 6.52% | 0.09% |
| CRCLCIRCLE INTERNET GROUP INC | 5.56% | 0.01% |
| TEMTEMPUS AI INC-CL A | 4.83% | 0.01% |
| CRSPCRISPR THERAPEUTICS AG | 4.52% | Not held |
| COINCOINBASE GLOBAL INC -CLASS A | 4.47% | 0.04% |
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.
VTI vs ARKK: five-year payout growth
VTI grew its split-adjusted payout at 6.28% a year over 2020-2025. ARKK has no 2020-2025 growth rate to compare.
| Dividend metric | VTI | ARKK |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 annual payout | $2.770 | $2.044 |
| Peer rank | #81 of 138 | not ranked |
Split-adjusted annual distributions, 2020–2025. Research as of Sep 19, 2026. Yield and expense ratio above are current values, not part of this window.
AIQ Agreement Matrix
3 of 4 covered evidence groups favor VTI. A wide gap backed by one group is a weaker case than a narrow gap backed by five.
| Evidence group | Favors | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| AIQ Score | VTI | 63 vs 40 |
| Fundamentals | Not covered | Not covered |
| Valuation | VTI | Value 42 vs 24 |
| Technicals | Even | Price vs 50-day -1.6% vs -6.4%; vs 200-day 5.6% vs 10% |
| Risk Resilience | VTI | Risk Resilience 86 vs 21 |
| Analyst expectations | Not covered | Not covered |
✓ agrees with the overall verdict · ✕ points the other way. Groups marked “not covered” lack data on one or both of VTI and ARKK and are excluded from the count.
AIQ Decision Stability
The conclusion rests on a wide gap and broad agreement. It is unlikely to turn on a single session.
- The AIQ gap is wide at 23 points. (supports the conclusion holding)
- The leader's advantage has been widening. (supports the conclusion holding)
- The lead has been steady session to session. (supports the conclusion holding)
- 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
120 daily snapshots · Jun 29 – Oct 28VTI lead: Strengthening — the AIQ differential moved from 19 to 23 points over 30 sessions.
- Today
- VTI +23
- 63 vs 40
- 7 sessions ago
- VTI +20
- 56 vs 36
- 30 sessions ago
- VTI +19
- 65 vs 46
- 90 sessions ago
- VTI +10
- 61 vs 51
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.
3 bullish / 1 bearish / 1 neutral, conflicted
Only VTI
- ATR Contraction - Coiling — neutral, volatility, short horizon (0.92%)
- 52-Week High Proximity — bullish, risk, long horizon (1.4%)
- Uptrend Structure Active — bullish, trend, long horizon
1 bullish / 2 bearish, conflicted
Only ARKK
- Beta Spike Warning — bearish, risk, long horizon
Both carry 2 more signals that do not separate them: Golden Cross Active, MACD Bearish Crossover.
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.
Price is down while the AIQ Score moved up 1 points over the same session — price and model disagree (price -1.76%, AIQ +1 points).
Price is down while the AIQ Score moved up 1 points over the same session — price and model disagree (price -6.07%, 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.
- 1ARKK closes the Risk Resilience gap — currently 65 points behind, the largest single contributor to VTI's edge.
- 2ARKK's Beta Spike Warning resolves — a bearish risk rule currently active against it.
- 3VTI's conflicting signal state resolves bearish — it currently carries 3 bullish and 1 bearish rules at once.
- 4A regime shift changes factor weighting — Quality and Value carry the heaviest weights in the composite, so a rotation toward either would move the result most.
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| Metric | VTI | ARKK |
|---|---|---|
| 1 week (5 sessions) | 0% | 0.8% |
| 1 month (20 sessions) | 1.3% | -3.3% |
| 3 months (63 sessions) | 3.5% | 18.1% |
| 6 months (126 sessions) | 8.3% | 17.1% |
| Year to date | 13.1% | 12% |
| 1 year (252 sessions) | 13.6% | -3.6% |
Technicals
Split| Metric | VTI | ARKK |
|---|---|---|
| RSI (14) | 49.4 | 47 |
| ADX (14) | 14.8 | 16.6 |
| Price vs 50-day | -1.6% | -6.4% |
| Price vs 200-day | 5.6% | 10% |
| Volatility (1M, annualized) | 10.3% | 38.1% |
Risk
VTI is the more resilient| Metric | VTI | ARKK |
|---|---|---|
| Beta | 1.02 | 2.29 |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.65 | -0.02 |
| Sortino ratio | 1 | -0.03 |
| Max drawdown | -9.2% | -28.9% |
| Current drawdown | -1.3% | -7.2% |
| Annualized volatility | 13% | 37.4% |
| Value at risk (95%) | -1.4% | -3.6% |
Straight answers
Short answers to the questions fund investors ask about this pair, from the figures above.
What is the difference between VTI and ARKK?
VTI holds 3,524 positions to ARKK's 47, and 14% of their weight is in the same securities.
How much do VTI and ARKK overlap?
VTI and ARKK share 14.16% of their weighted exposure across 38 common holdings. 3,461 holdings are unique to VTI, and 7 holdings are unique to ARKK. Owning both is genuinely additive — most of the capital sits in different securities.
Which ETF is more diversified, VTI or ARKK?
VTI holds more positions: 3,524 versus 47 for ARKK.
Which has the lower expense ratio?
VTI has the lower expense ratio, 0.03% a year against 0.75% for ARKK.
Which ETF has been more volatile?
ARKK has been more volatile over the past year, at 37.4% annualized against 13% for VTI.
Which ETF has had the smaller drawdown?
VTI fell less from peak to trough over the past five years: -25.4% against -76.1% for ARKK.
Compare VTI and ARKK 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.