VWO vs VEU: Performance, Holdings, Fees & Risk
VWO and VEU are ETFs, but they can differ materially in exposure, yield, fees and risk. VWO is Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF, while VEU is Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US ETF. VWO is broader by holdings count, with 5,030 positions versus 3,884 for VEU. VWO is more concentrated at the top, based on top-10 holdings weight. Current AlgovestIQ evidence has VEU ahead on AIQ Score, 61 versus 60.
What is the main difference between VWO and VEU?
VWO and VEU have little in common: 24% of their weight is in the same securities.
| Metric | VWO | VEU |
|---|---|---|
| Fund | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.06% | 0.04% |
| Holdings | 5,030 | 3,884 |
| Top-10 concentration | 26.6% | 14% |
| Distribution yieldTrailing 12 months | 2.09% | 2.4% |
| Average volume | 7,474,406 | 2,566,805 |
| Performance | ||
| 1Y return | +6.9% | +13.3% |
| YTD return | +8.4% | +11.3% |
| 5Y annualized returnTotal return, distributions reinvested | +5.5% | +8.6% |
| Risk | ||
| Annualized volatility | 17.4% | 17.3% |
| Max drawdown (1Y) | -11.2% | -11.6% |
| Max drawdown (5Y)Total return, distributions reinvested | -29.9% | -28.5% |
| Beta | 1.11 | 1.11 |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.26 | 0.59 |
| Sortino ratio | 0.38 | 0.89 |
| AlgovestIQ | ||
| AIQ Score | 60/100 | 61/100 |
| AIQ Edge Score | 8/10 | 8/10 |
| Momentum | 34/100 | 41/100 |
| Risk Resilience | 76/100 | 82/100 |
AlgovestIQ AIQ Comparison
Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF vs Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US ETF
VEU leads
VEU leads by 1 AIQ points, primarily on Momentum and Risk Resilience, having only recently taken the lead back from VWO.
Fragile: 1 of 4 evidence groups support VEU, the lead recently changed hands, and its current signal state is conflicted.
Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF
Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US ETF
The Algovestiq AIQ Score currently favors VEU over VWO, 61 versus 60 as of Oct 21, 2026. VEU's advantage is driven primarily by stronger momentum and risk resilience, while VWO holds the stronger quality profile. VEU also shows the stronger technical structure relative to its 50-day moving average. 1 of 4 covered evidence groups favor VEU today, and the comparison is rated Fragile on stability: the AIQ gap is narrow at 1 points. VEU lead: Reversed — VWO led by 1 AIQ points 30 sessions ago; VEU now leads by 1.
Compare Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF and Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US ETF across performance, expense ratio, dividend yield, drawdown, volatility and the Algovestiq AIQ Score.
VWO vs VEU: 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 | VWO | VEU | Fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lower costExpense ratio | 0.06% | 0.04% | VEU |
| Broader diversificationNumber of holdings | 5,030 | 3,884 | VWO |
| Lower concentrationWeight of the 10 largest holdings | 26.6% | 14% | VEU |
| Higher incomeTrailing 12-month distribution yield | 2.09% | 2.4% | VEU |
| Smaller drawdownsMax drawdown, 5 years | -29.9% | -28.5% | Similar |
| Lower volatilityAnnualized volatility, 1 year | 17.4% | 17.3% | Similar |
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 VWO and VEU 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.
- Momentum34 vs 41VEU +7
- Risk Resilience76 vs 82VEU +6
- Quality73 vs 68VWO +5
- Value60 vs 59Even
1 of 4 evidence groups favor VEU. VEU’s edge is concentrated in momentum and risk resilience; VWO keeps a meaningful quality edge.
What changed since the last close
Latest scored session 2026-10-20, compared against the prior scored session 2026-10-19.
Largest factor move: Momentum +4
No signal started or stopped since the prior session; its 4 active signals are unchanged.
Largest factor move: Momentum +6
No signal started or stopped since the prior session; its 4 active signals are unchanged.
VEU's lead widened by 1 AIQ point in the latest session.
Deeper signal detail for each name lives on its own signals page — VWO and VEU both carry a full feed there.
The central trade-off
VEU (Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US ETF): the stronger current systematic profile, led by momentum and risk resilience.
VWO (Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF): the counter-case, on quality.
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 | VWO | VEU | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.06% | 0.04% | Lower is better — it compounds against you every year you hold. |
| Holdings | 5,030 | 3,884 | More holdings means broader diversification, not better returns. |
| Average volume | 7,474,406 | 2,566,805 | Liquidity — matters most if you trade size. |
| Annualized volatility | 17.4% | 17.3% | Lower is a steadier ride for the same exposure. |
| Max drawdown (1Y) | -11.2% | -11.6% | The worst peak-to-trough loss over the past year. |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.26 | 0.59 | Return per unit of risk. Higher is better. |
| Beta | 1.11 | 1.11 | 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
VWO and VEU share 24.34% of their weighted exposure across 2,198 common holdings.
2,364 holdings are unique to VWO, and 1,491 holdings are unique to VEU. Owning both is genuinely additive — most of the capital sits in different securities.
VWO is the more concentrated of the two: its ten largest positions are 26.63% of the fund, against 14.01% for VEU (5,030 holdings vs 3,884). 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 | VWO | VEU | Shared |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2330.TWTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd | 14.99% | 4.35% | 4.35% |
| 0700.HKTencent Holdings Ltd | 3.19% | 0.93% | 0.93% |
| 9988.HKAlibaba Group Holding Ltd | 2.33% | 0.68% | 0.68% |
| 2454.TWMediaTek Inc | 1.31% | 0.38% | 0.38% |
| 2308.TWDelta Electronics Inc | 0.99% | 0.29% | 0.29% |
| 0939.HKChina Construction Bank Corp | 0.86% | 0.25% | 0.25% |
| 2317.TWHon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd | 0.78% | 0.23% | 0.23% |
| HDFCBANK.NSHDFC Bank Ltd | 0.75% | 0.22% | 0.22% |
Shared weight is the lower of the two positions — the portion of capital both funds genuinely have in the same security.
What VWO adds that VEU doesn’t
| Holding | VWO | VEU |
|---|---|---|
| 2330.TWTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd | 14.99% | 4.35% |
| 0700.HKTencent Holdings Ltd | 3.19% | 0.93% |
| 9988.HKAlibaba Group Holding Ltd | 2.33% | 0.68% |
| 2454.TWMediaTek Inc | 1.31% | 0.38% |
| 2308.TWDelta Electronics Inc | 0.99% | 0.29% |
| 0939.HKChina Construction Bank Corp | 0.86% | 0.25% |
What VEU adds that VWO doesn’t
| Holding | VEU | VWO |
|---|---|---|
| 005930.KSSamsung Electronics Co Ltd | 1.95% | Not held |
| ASML.ASASML Holding NV | 1.54% | Not held |
| 000660.KSSK hynix Inc | 1.53% | Not held |
| HSBA.LHSBC Holdings PLC | 0.89% | Not held |
| ROP.SWRoche Holding AG | 0.75% | Not held |
| RY.TORoyal Bank of Canada | 0.71% | 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.
VWO vs VEU: five-year payout growth
VEU grew its split-adjusted payout faster over 2020-2025 — 14.26% a year against VWO's 9.41%. VWO: The 2020 payout was 33.6% below 2019, so the growth rate measures a recovery from a weak starting year. VWO: A single payment in an endpoint year was 4.0x the fund's median payment, so one distribution carries much of the result. VEU: The 2020 payout was 30.0% below 2019, so the growth rate measures a recovery from a weak starting year. VEU: The payout jumped 61.5% in 2021, a single step rather than steady compounding - often an index or mandate change. VEU: A single payment in an endpoint year was 3.7x the fund's median payment, so one distribution carries much of the result.
| Dividend metric | VWO | VEU |
|---|---|---|
| 5Y payout CAGR | 9.41% | 14.26% |
| 2020 annual payout | $0.955 | $1.166 |
| 2025 annual payout | $1.497 | $2.271 |
| Calendar-year declines | 2 | 2 |
| Peer rank | #60 of 138 | #40 of 138 |
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
1 of 4 covered evidence groups favor VEU. A wide gap backed by one group is a weaker case than a narrow gap backed by five.
| Evidence group | Favors | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| AIQ Score | Even | 60 vs 61 |
| Fundamentals | Not covered | Not covered |
| Valuation | Even | Value 60 vs 59 |
| Technicals | Even | Price vs 50-day -3% vs -2.5%; vs 200-day -0.1% vs 0.7% |
| Risk Resilience | VEU | Risk Resilience 76 vs 82 |
| 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 VWO and VEU and are excluded from the count.
AIQ Decision Stability
The conclusion is sensitive to small changes. Treat the lead as provisional and watch the flip conditions below.
- The AIQ gap is narrow at 1 points. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
- Only 1 of 4 covered evidence groups agree. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
- The lead has already changed hands inside the comparison window. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
- 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 VEU.
How the comparison changed
120 daily snapshots · Jun 21 – Oct 20VEU lead: Reversed — VWO led by 1 AIQ points 30 sessions ago; VEU now leads by 1.
- Today
- VEU +1
- 60 vs 61
- 7 sessions ago
- VWO +1
- 60 vs 59
- 30 sessions ago
- VWO +1
- 61 vs 60
- 90 sessions ago
- VWO +2
- 70 vs 68
The lead changed hands 11 times in this window, most recently on Aug 4 when VWO moved ahead of VEU.
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.
VWO and VEU carry the same 4 signals, so the signals do not separate them: Bollinger Band Squeeze, Golden Cross Active, ATR Contraction - Coiling, MACD Bearish Crossover.
VEU 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 -0.12%, AIQ +1 points).
Price and the AIQ Score both moved up over the latest session (price +0.35%, AIQ +2 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.
- 1VWO closes the Momentum gap — currently 7 points behind, the largest single contributor to VEU's edge.
- 2VWO's Bollinger Band Squeeze turns directional — it is neutral today and would confirm a change in trend.
- 3VEU's conflicting signal state resolves bearish — it currently carries 1 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
VEU leads 5 of 6 windows| Metric | VWO | VEU |
|---|---|---|
| 1 week (5 sessions) | -2.4% | -0.9% |
| 1 month (20 sessions) | -4.7% | -4.2% |
| 3 months (63 sessions) | -1% | -1% |
| 6 months (126 sessions) | 0.1% | 2.7% |
| Year to date | 8.4% | 11.3% |
| 1 year (252 sessions) | 6.9% | 13.3% |
Technicals
Split| Metric | VWO | VEU |
|---|---|---|
| RSI (14) | 41.2 | 42.1 |
| ADX (14) | 18.6 | 24 |
| Price vs 50-day | -3% | -2.5% |
| Price vs 200-day | -0.1% | 0.7% |
| Volatility (1M, annualized) | 14.1% | 12.2% |
Risk
VEU is the more resilient| Metric | VWO | VEU |
|---|---|---|
| Beta | 1.11 | 1.11 |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.26 | 0.59 |
| Sortino ratio | 0.38 | 0.89 |
| Max drawdown | -11.2% | -11.6% |
| Current drawdown | -5.2% | -5.3% |
| Annualized volatility | 17.4% | 17.3% |
| Value at risk (95%) | -1.6% | -1.7% |
Straight answers
Short answers to the questions fund investors ask about this pair, from the figures above.
What is the difference between VWO and VEU?
VWO and VEU have little in common: 24% of their weight is in the same securities.
How much do VWO and VEU overlap?
VWO and VEU share 24.34% of their weighted exposure across 2,198 common holdings. 2,364 holdings are unique to VWO, and 1,491 holdings are unique to VEU. Owning both is genuinely additive — most of the capital sits in different securities.
Which ETF is more diversified, VWO or VEU?
VWO holds more positions: 5,030 versus 3,884 for VEU.
Which has the lower expense ratio?
VEU has the lower expense ratio, 0.04% a year against 0.06% for VWO.
Which ETF has the higher distribution yield?
VEU, with a trailing 12-month distribution yield of 2.4% against 2.09% for VWO.
Which ETF has been more volatile?
Their volatility over the past year is similar: 17.4% annualized for VWO and 17.3% for VEU.
Which ETF has had the smaller drawdown?
Their worst peak-to-trough falls over the past five years are similar: -29.9% for VWO and -28.5% for VEU.
Compare VWO and VEU 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.