XUU vs VUN: Choosing the Better US Total Market ETF

The main difference between XUU and VUN is that VUN uses the CRSP U.S. Total Market Index (CRSP US TMI) as its benchmark and is part of the Vanguard fund family while XUU replicates the performance of the S&P Total Market Index (S&P TMI) and is part of BlackRock’s iShares fund family.

CRSP stands for the Center for Research in Security Price and is an affiliate of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

The CRSP US TMI is comprised of close to 4,000 constituents across the size spectrum from mega and large-cap to small-cap and micro-cap stocks that collectively make up almost 100% of the US public equity market.

Like the CRSP US TMI, the S&P TMI has a total of 4,227 constituents that make up the US equity market from small and micro-cap stocks to large and mega-cap stocks.

However, the allocations to each sub-component of the equity market differ slightly in each of these benchmarks.

XUU

XUU was launched in 2015 to provide investors with an opportunity to ‘own the entire US public equity market’ within a single package.

The ETF is advertised as a long-term core holding and is ideal for investors with a 10 to 15+ year investment horizon wherein they can capitalize on the market’s natural tendency to move upwards.

Since inception, XUU has delivered 11.04% annualized growth with a 5-year annual performance of 10.54%.

VUN

Established in 2013, the Vanguard U.S.

Total Market Index ETF (VUN) has assets under management of $5.6 billion as of January 31, 2023.

Offering a diverse mix of growth and value equities, the ETF is passively managed and tracks the performance of 3,969 stocks.

Since its inception, VUN has delivered 13.66% annualized growth, including 10.30% in the last 5 years.

Performance: XUU vs VUN

XUU Annualized Performance as of March 6, 2023:

• 3-Year: 9.60%
• 5-Year: 10.54%
• Since Inception: 11.04%

VUN Annualized Performance as of March 6, 2023:

• 3-Year: 9.14%
• 5-Year: 10.30%
• Since inception: 13.66%

Fees

XUU offers a Management Expense Ratio (MER) of 0.08% which is largely comprised of its 0.07% management fee.

VUN offers a Management Expense Ratio (MER) of 0.16% which is largely comprised of its 0.15% management fee.

Holdings

Below are the top holdings within both XUU and VUN:

XUU:

• iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (48.5%)
• iShares Core S&P Total US Stock ETF (44.3%)
• iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF (3.26%)
• iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (1.38%)
• USD Cash (0.09%)
• Blackstone Inc. (0.09%)
• Uber Technologies Inc. (0.08%)
• Ferguson plc (0.07%)
• Palo Alto networks Inc. (0.06%)
• Airbnb Inc. Class A (0.06%)

VUN: (Top 10 holdings as a % of asset value)

• Apple Inc. (5.4%)
• Microsoft Corp. (4.6%)
• Alphabet Inc. (2.7%)
• Amazon.com Inc. (2.2%)
• Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (1.3%)
• ExxonMobil Corp. (1.2%)
• UnitedHealth Group Inc. (1.2%)
• Tesla Inc. (1.1%)
• Nvidia Corp. (1.1%)
• Johnson & Johnson (1.1%)

Frequently Asked Questions