ETF Versus

IJR vs VTI

iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF vs Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares

Last updated: 2026-04-10

IJR iShares

iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR) is an exchange-traded fund issued by iShares that provides exposure to small-cap U.S. equities with higher growth potential and volatility. It charges a low expense ratio of 0.06%. The fund offers a moderate dividend yield of 1.23%. Launched in 2000, the fund has a 26-year track record.

AUM: $96.3B ER: 0.06% Yield: 1.23% Since: May 22, 2000
VTI Vanguard

Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares (VTI) is an exchange-traded fund issued by Vanguard that provides exposure to the total U.S. stock market across all capitalizations. It charges a very low expense ratio of 0.03%. The fund offers a moderate dividend yield of 1.13%. Launched in 2001, the fund has a 25-year track record.

AUM: $584.2B ER: 0.03% Yield: 1.13% Since: May 24, 2001

Quick Verdict

VTI has a slightly lower expense ratio (0.03% vs 0.06%), saving about $60 per $10,000 over 10 years. Over the past year, IJR has significantly outperformed with a 38.1% return vs 30.2%.

Key Metrics

Metric IJR VTI
Expense Ratio 0.06% 0.03%
Dividend Yield 1.2% 1.1%
Fund Family iShares Vanguard
Category US Small Cap US Total Market

Performance Chart

Indexed to 100 at start (5-year comparison)

75 93 111 129 147 165 2021-04 2022-07 2023-10 2025-01 2026-04
IJR +18.7%
VTI +56.5%

Performance Comparison

Period IJR VTI Difference
1 Month +4.49% +0.60% +3.89%
3 Months +2.82% -2.27% +5.09%
6 Months +11.61% +2.54% +9.07%
YTD +7.20% -0.32% +7.52%
1 Year +38.09% +30.23% +7.86%
3 Years +35.49% +64.44% -28.95%
5 Years +18.67% +56.51% -37.84%

Fee Impact Over Time

Estimated fee cost difference assuming 8% annual returns

Investment Period IJR Fees VTI Fees You Save
$10,000 10 years $120 $60 $60
$10,000 20 years $515 $258 $257
$10,000 30 years $1,664 $835 $828
$50,000 10 years $598 $299 $299
$50,000 30 years $8,318 $4,176 $4,142
$100,000 30 years $16,637 $8,352 $8,285

Risk Metrics

Based on 5 years of daily returns

Metric IJR VTI
Annualized Volatility 21.6% 17.5%
Max Drawdown -28.9% -26.2%
Sharpe Ratio 0.06 0.34

Dividend Comparison

Metric IJR VTI
Annual Dividend (per share) $1.60 $3.77
Dividend Yield 1.23% 1.12%
Distribution Frequency Quarterly Quarterly

Top Holdings

0 of top 9 holdings overlap (0% overlap in top holdings)

IJR Top Holdings

NameWeight
BLK CSH FND TREASURY SL AGENCYXTSLA1.29%
Viavi Solutions Inc.VIAV0.60%
FormFactor, Inc.FORM0.57%
Eastman Chemical CompanyEMN0.53%
Primoris Services CorporationPRIM0.53%
Element Solutions IncESI0.53%
Argan, Inc.AGX0.51%
Semtech CorporationSMTC0.50%
ESCO Technologies Inc.ESE0.50%
Match Group, Inc.MTCH0.48%

VTI Top Holdings

NameWeight
NVIDIA CorporationNVDA6.17%
Apple Inc.AAPL5.89%
Microsoft CorporationMSFT4.40%
Amazon.com, Inc.AMZN3.05%
Broadcom Inc.AVGO2.28%
Alphabet Inc.GOOG2.16%
Meta Platforms, Inc.META2.13%
Tesla, Inc.TSLA1.72%
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.BRK.B1.37%

Which One Should You Choose?

Choose VTI if...

you want the lowest fees and plan to buy and hold long-term. Over decades, the expense ratio difference compounds significantly.

Choose IJR if...

recent performance momentum matters to your strategy. Note that past performance doesn't guarantee future results.

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