DFAX vs VXUS: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

Dimensional World ex U.S. Core Equity 2 ETF

DFAXBNYSE Arca

Vanguard Total International Stock ETF

VXUSANasdaq

Overlap

52.9%by weight

Expense ratio

VXUS −0.23pt a year

DFAX0.28%VXUS0.05%

Avg volume · 30D

VXUS 7.3×the volume

DFAX721KVXUS5.27M

5Y return · a year

DFAX +1.5pt

DFAX+9.6%VXUS+8.1%

DFAX vs VXUS Performance

Oct 29, 2021 – Oct 30, 2026

+58.0%DFAX+47.5%VXUS

Expense ratio: DFAX 0.28%; VXUS 0.05%, better
Fund size: DFAX $12.1B; VXUS $649B
1Y total return: DFAX +15.7%, better; VXUS +13.2%
Yield (12M): DFAX 2.50%, better; VXUS 2.41%
Holdings: DFAX 10528; VXUS 8905
Avg volume (30D): DFAX 721K sh; VXUS 5.27M sh, better
NAV per share: DFAX $35.90; VXUS $82.18
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for DFAX, VXUS, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	DFAX	VXUS
Cost30% weight	C45	A81Higher
Mission25% weight	A100	A100
Risk15% weight	C53	B55Higher
Tradability15% weight	C50	A73Higher
Holdings10% weight	A85Higher	A74
Durability5% weight	C51	A86Higher

Rank among Total International Market funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. DFAX and VXUS are both graded against the same 8 Total International Market funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

Total International Market⁠

Category · 8 funds

See all 8 ›

VXUS ranks 1st and DFAX 4th of 8 funds in the Total International Market Category.

Rank 1AVXUSVanguard Total International Stock ETFScore 80
Rank 2AVEUVanguard FTSE All-World ex-US ETFScore 79
Rank 3AIXUSiShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETFScore 76
Rank 4BDFAXDimensional World ex U.S. Core Equity 2 ETFScore 64
Rank 5BACWXiShares MSCI ACWI ex U.S. ETFScore 58

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

DFAXBDimensional World ex U.S. Core Equity 2 ETF

VXUSAVanguard Total International Stock ETF

In short

DFAX No data

VXUS Everything outside the US in one ticker: roughly 8,600 stocks across developed and emerging markets, large caps down to small, for 0.05% a year. Vanguard's answer to international investing is to just own the whole thing.

Stated mandate

DFAX No data

VXUS The fund uses a passive indexing strategy to track the FTSE Global All Cap ex US Index, which measures the performance of large-, mid-, and small-cap stocks in developed and emerging markets outside the United States.

Why people hold it

DFAX No data

VXUS 0.05% a year, a small fraction of the median fee among its international peers.
One ticker, roughly 8,600 companies: developed and emerging markets, large caps down to small caps, weighted by market size.vanguard.com
Tracks the FTSE Global All Cap ex US Index tightly, one of the cleanest index builds among the international funds we grade.
Trading since 2011, well over $100 billion in assets and one of the busiest names in its category, which usually shows up as tight bid-ask spreads.

Worth knowing

DFAX No data

VXUS No US stocks by design. This is the other half of a global portfolio, not the whole portfolio.vanguard.com
Foreign currency moves feed straight into dollar returns, and Vanguard flags country and currency risk as especially high in emerging markets.vanguard.com
Market-cap weighting means the largest developed markets and their megacaps steer the fund; the thousands of small names barely move it.vanguard.com

Full DFAX profile⁠

Full VXUS profile⁠

DFAX vs VXUS Holdings

How DFAX and VXUS differ

Overlap by weight

52.9%

Shared holdings make up 85.0% of VXUS and 80.1% of DFAX.

Level by level

Holdings5,972 in both52.9%
Sector11 Sectors92.0%
Countryby domicile93.3%
Asset classEquity100%

Sector

Sector weights in DFAX and VXUS, widest gap first
Sector	More in DFAXMore in VXUS	DFAX	VXUS
Technology	VXUS +3.5 points	18.2%	21.7%
Financials	VXUS +3.3 points	19.9%	23.2%
Materials	DFAX +3.2 points	10.7%	7.5%
Energy	DFAX +2.4 points	7.0%	4.6%
Consumer Discretionary	DFAX +1.2 points	8.5%	7.3%
Industrials	DFAX +1.1 points	16.0%	14.9%
Health Care	VXUS +0.7 points	6.2%	6.9%
Real Estate	VXUS +0.6 points	1.6%	2.2%
Consumer Staples	DFAX +0.2 points	5.0%	4.8%
Communication	VXUS +0.2 points	3.9%	4.1%
Utilities	Same weight	2.9%	2.9%

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in DFAX and VXUS, widest gap first
Country	More in DFAXMore in VXUS	DFAX	VXUS
Taiwan	DFAX +2.4 points	11.8%	9.3%
South Africa	VXUS +1.6 points	1.4%	3.0%
United Kingdom	VXUS +1.5 points	6.6%	8.1%
United States	DFAX +1.0 points	1.0%	0.0%
France	VXUS +0.8 points	4.0%	4.8%
South Korea	VXUS +0.7 points	6.0%	6.7%
Canada	VXUS +0.7 points	7.2%	7.9%
Netherlands	VXUS +0.5 points	2.4%	2.9%
Other countries (32)	DFAX +2.3 points	59.5%	57.2%

Outside the US: DFAX 64% developed, 36% emerging. VXUS 65% developed, 35% emerging.

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

DFAX8.9%
VXUS14.6%

Securities held

DFAX10,488
VXUS8,836

Asset class

DFAX: Equity
VXUS: Equity

Holdings

Only in DFAX4,516
In both5,972
Only in VXUS2,864

Only in DFAX

4,516 securities, 19.9% of DFAX by weight

Taiwan Semiconductor Manu1.05%
Asml Holding NV0.76%
Novartis AG Adr0.69%
Shell PLC0.55%
Samsung Electronics Co Lt0.31%
Bp PLC0.28%
Royal Bank of Canada0.25%
Canadian Natural Resource0.24%
Suncor Energy Inc.0.23%
Hsbc Holdings PLC0.22%
Basf SE0.20%
Astrazeneca PLC0.20%
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Arge0.19%
Tesco PLC0.17%
Commerzbank Ag-Tend0.16%
Bhp Group Ltd0.15%
Cenovus Energy Inc0.15%
Ubs Group AG0.15%
Helvetia Baloise Holding0.14%
Aib Group PLC0.14%
Icici Bank Ltd0.14%
Deutsche Bank AG0.13%
Toronto-Dominion Bank0.13%
Kinross Gold Corp0.13%
Nordea Bank Abp0.12%
Bank of Nova Scotia/The0.12%
Gsk PLC0.11%
Unilever PLC0.10%
Bank of Montreal0.10%
Bt Group PLC0.10%
Manulife Financial Corp0.10%
Nutrien Ltd0.09%
Sun Life Financial Inc0.09%
Banco Comercial Portugues0.09%
Barclays PLC0.09%
Rio Tinto PLC Adr0.09%
Bombardier Inc0.09%
Bharat Electronics Ltd0.09%
Sunbelt Rentals Holdings0.08%
Bharti Airtel Ltd0.08%
Gold Fields Ltd0.08%
Stmicroelectronics NV0.08%
Imperial Oil Ltd0.08%
Pembina Pipeline Corp0.07%
Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd0.07%
Axis Bank Ltd0.07%
Tata Steel Ltd0.07%
Canadian National Railway0.07%
Magna International Inc0.07%
Endeavour Mining PLC0.07%

Only in VXUS

2,864 securities, 14.3% of VXUS by weight

SLCMT11421.66%
SoftBank Group Corp0.34%
Samsung Electronics-Pref0.26%
HDFC Bank Ltd0.19%
Air Liquide SA0.18%
BHP Group Ltd0.17%
SK Square Co Ltd0.17%
ICICI Bank Ltd0.16%
Investor AB0.16%
L'Oreal SA0.15%
Nordea Bank Abp0.14%
TC Energy Corp0.14%
Bharti Airtel Ltd0.13%
Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF0.11%
Basf SE0.11%
Compass Group PLC0.11%
Al Rajhi Bank0.11%
ORIX Corp0.09%
Japan Post Bank Co Ltd0.09%
Waste Connections Inc0.09%
Tesco PLC0.09%
Goodman Group0.08%
Infosys Ltd0.08%
Cameco Corp0.08%
3i Group PLC0.08%
Nutrien Ltd0.08%
STMicroelectronics NV0.08%
Power Corp of Canada0.07%
Engie SA0.07%
Alcon AG0.07%
Saudi National Bank/The0.07%
Axis Bank Ltd0.07%
Kyocera Corp0.06%
Bajaj Finance Ltd0.06%
AIB Group PLC0.06%
adidas AG0.06%
Larsen & Toubro Ltd0.06%
First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC0.05%
Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd0.05%
Baidu Inc0.05%
InterContinental Hotels Group PLC0.05%
Tata Consultancy Services Ltd0.05%
Emirates Telecommunications Group Co PJSC0.05%
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd0.05%
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners PLC0.04%
Samsung C&T Corp0.04%
Kia Corp0.04%
Bombardier Inc0.04%
Investor AB0.04%
Helvetia Baloise Holding AG0.04%

Weight gaps

The 100 widest of 5,972 Holdings in both funds.

Holding weights in DFAX and VXUS, widest gap first
Holding	More in DFAXMore in VXUS	DFAX	VXUS
Taiwan Semiconductor Manu	VXUS +1.84 points	2.43%	4.27%
Asml Holding NV	VXUS +1.53 points	0.02%	1.55%
Sk Hynix Inc	VXUS +0.88 points	0.79%	1.67%
Samsung Electronics Co	VXUS +0.78 points	1.25%	2.03%
Hsbc Holdings PLCHSBA.L	VXUS +0.64 points	0.12%	0.76%
Novartis AG	VXUS +0.59 points	0.01%	0.60%
Astrazeneca PLCAZN.L	VXUS +0.54 points	<0.01%	0.54%
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd	VXUS +0.41 points	0.16%	0.57%
Shopify Inc	VXUS +0.41 points	<0.01%	0.41%
Sap SE	VXUS +0.39 points	0.07%	0.46%
Tencent Holdings Ltd	VXUS +0.37 points	0.39%	0.76%
Siemens AG	VXUS +0.34 points	0.16%	0.50%
Shell PLCSHEL.L	VXUS +0.34 points	0.28%	0.62%
Ubs Group AG	VXUS +0.33 points	<0.01%	0.33%
Toronto-Dominion Bank/The	VXUS +0.31 points	0.12%	0.43%
Mitsubishi Ufj Financial	VXUS +0.31 points	0.26%	0.57%
Schneider Electric SE	VXUS +0.31 points	0.09%	0.40%
Banco Santander SA	VXUS +0.29 points	0.16%	0.45%
Mediatek Inc	VXUS +0.27 points	0.24%	0.51%
Royal Bank of Canada	VXUS +0.27 points	0.35%	0.62%
Unilever PLCULVR.L	VXUS +0.26 points	0.02%	0.28%
Kioxia Holdings Corp	VXUS +0.27 points	0.03%	0.30%
Commonwealth Bank of Aust	VXUS +0.24 points	0.15%	0.39%
Iberdrola SA	VXUS +0.24 points	0.11%	0.35%
Delta Electronics Inc	VXUS +0.24 points	0.07%	0.31%
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Arge	VXUS +0.23 points	0.12%	0.35%
Novo Nordisk A/S	VXUS +0.23 points	0.04%	0.27%
Tokyo Electron Ltd	VXUS +0.23 points	0.14%	0.37%
Roche Holding AG	VXUS +0.23 points	0.43%	0.66%
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial	VXUS +0.22 points	0.14%	0.36%
Canadian Natural Resource	VXUS +0.22 points	<0.01%	0.22%
Enbridge Inc	VXUS +0.21 points	0.02%	0.23%
Bank of Montreal	VXUS +0.21 points	0.06%	0.27%
Gsk PLCGSK.L	VXUS +0.20 points	0.02%	0.22%
Bank of Nova Scotia/The	VXUS +0.20 points	0.05%	0.25%
Rio Tinto PLCRIO.L	VXUS +0.20 points	0.02%	0.22%
Bp PLCBP.L	VXUS +0.19 points	0.07%	0.26%
Totalenergies SE	DFAX +0.19 points	0.58%	0.39%
Safran SA	VXUS +0.18 points	0.11%	0.29%
Mizuho Financial Group In	VXUS +0.18 points	0.11%	0.29%
Keyence Corp	VXUS +0.17 points	0.04%	0.21%
Cie Financiere Richemont	VXUS +0.17 points	0.08%	0.25%
Brookfield Corp	VXUS +0.16 points	<0.01%	0.17%
Airbus SE	VXUS +0.16 points	0.12%	0.28%
Engie SA	DFAX +0.16 points	0.20%	0.04%
Intesa Sanpaolo Spa	VXUS +0.17 points	0.09%	0.26%
Rolls-Royce Holdings PLCRR.L	VXUS +0.16 points	0.20%	0.36%
Abb Ltd	VXUS +0.16 points	0.17%	0.33%
Barclays PLCBARC.L	VXUS +0.15 points	0.03%	0.18%
British American TobaccoBATS.L	VXUS +0.16 points	0.09%	0.25%
National Grid PLCNG.L	VXUS +0.15 points	0.02%	0.17%
Ing Groep NV	VXUS +0.16 points	0.07%	0.23%
Canadian Pacific Kansas C	VXUS +0.16 points	0.01%	0.17%
Lvmh Moet Hennessy Louis	VXUS +0.15 points	0.09%	0.24%
Manulife Financial Corp	VXUS +0.15 points	0.01%	0.16%
Nestle SA	VXUS +0.14 points	0.38%	0.52%
Canadian National Railway	VXUS +0.14 points	<0.01%	0.14%
Bnp Paribas SA	VXUS +0.13 points	0.10%	0.23%
Mitsui & Co Ltd	VXUS +0.13 points	0.04%	0.17%
Murata Manufacturing Co L	VXUS +0.13 points	0.06%	0.19%
Wheaton Precious Metals C	VXUS +0.14 points	<0.01%	0.14%
Deutsche Bank AG	VXUS +0.13 points	<0.01%	0.14%
Dbs Group Holdings Ltd	VXUS +0.14 points	0.14%	0.28%
Sanofi	VXUS +0.13 points	0.07%	0.20%
Argenx SE	VXUS +0.12 points	<0.01%	0.13%
Siemens Energy AG	VXUS +0.12 points	0.15%	0.27%
Bayer AG	DFAX +0.12 points	0.24%	0.12%
Suncor Energy Inc	VXUS +0.12 points	0.06%	0.18%
Hitachi Ltd	VXUS +0.12 points	0.22%	0.34%
Relx PLCREL.L	VXUS +0.12 points	0.01%	0.13%
Unimicron Technology Corp	DFAX +0.12 points	0.23%	0.11%
Oversea-Chinese Banking C	VXUS +0.12 points	0.06%	0.18%
Recruit Holdings Co Ltd	VXUS +0.11 points	0.21%	0.32%
Reliance Industries Ltd	VXUS +0.12 points	0.07%	0.19%
Mitsubishi Corp	VXUS +0.11 points	0.10%	0.21%
Fast Retailing Co Ltd	VXUS +0.11 points	0.07%	0.18%
Canadian Imperial Bank of	VXUS +0.12 points	0.11%	0.23%
Nan Ya Plastics Corp	DFAX +0.11 points	0.20%	0.09%
Zurich Insurance Group AG	VXUS +0.11 points	0.11%	0.22%
Banco Bpm Spa	DFAX +0.11 points	0.15%	0.04%
Axa SA	VXUS +0.11 points	0.07%	0.18%
Csl Ltd	VXUS +0.11 points	0.03%	0.14%
Mitsubishi Electric Corp	VXUS +0.11 points	0.04%	0.15%
Anz Group Holdings	VXUS +0.10 points	0.08%	0.18%
Diageo PLCDGE.L	VXUS +0.11 points	<0.01%	0.11%
Glencore PLCGLEN.L	VXUS +0.11 points	0.06%	0.17%
Teva Pharmaceutical Indus	VXUS +0.10 points	<0.01%	0.10%
Franco-Nevada Corp	VXUS +0.10 points	<0.01%	0.10%
Prosus NV	VXUS +0.10 points	<0.01%	0.11%
Celestica Inc	DFAX +0.10 points	0.20%	0.10%
Aia Group Ltd	VXUS +0.10 points	0.12%	0.22%
Itochu Corp	VXUS +0.10 points	0.10%	0.20%
Ferrari NV	VXUS +0.09 points	<0.01%	0.10%
Pdd Holdings IncPDD	VXUS +0.09 points	0.04%	0.13%
Westpac Banking Corp	VXUS +0.10 points	0.09%	0.19%
E.on SE	DFAX +0.10 points	0.19%	0.09%
Banco De Sabadell SA	DFAX +0.10 points	0.14%	0.04%
Eneos Holdings Inc	DFAX +0.09 points	0.14%	0.05%
Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd	VXUS +0.09 points	0.12%	0.21%
Barrick Mining Corp	VXUS +0.09 points	0.00%	0.09%

All 10,279 DFAX holdings⁠All 8,602 VXUS holdings⁠

How we measure overlap

Each holding counts at its smaller weight in the two funds, summed over the full Holdings. Sector, country and asset class use the same rule on each fund’s split. Cash, FX and derivative lines stay out of the counts. Two bond funds get no overlap figure.

DFAX vs VXUS Cost

Overpaying DFAX vs VXUS

$4,695

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

DFAX 0.28%
$5,755
VXUS 0.05%
$1,060

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

DFAX 0.28%
VXUS 0.05%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	DFAX	VXUS	Overpaying
10	$509	$92	$417
20	$1,976	$360	$1,616
30	$5,755	$1,060	$4,695

Expense ratio

0.28%DFAX
0.05%VXUS, cheaper

VXUS0.05%DFAX0.28%

0.04%0.55%

Middle half of Total International Market funds
Median 0.23%

VXUS 2nd cheapest of 8 funds

DFAX 5th cheapest of 8 funds

DFAX vs VXUS Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): DFAX 2.50%, better; VXUS 2.41%
Payout (12M): DFAX $0.89; VXUS $1.98
Last payment: DFAX $0.22; VXUS $0.16
Ex-dividend: DFAX Sep 22, 2026; VXUS Sep 18, 2026
Paid on: DFAX Sep 24, 2026; VXUS Sep 22, 2026
Frequency: DFAX Quarterly; VXUS Quarterly

Distribution history

Per share, 2017 to 2026, same scale for both

DFAXQuarterly · 21 paymentsAll DFAX payments⁠

VXUSQuarterly · 39 paymentsAll VXUS payments⁠

DFAX vs VXUS Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

DFAX
VXUS

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: DFAX 12.3%VXUS 11.9%, better
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: DFAX 1.30, betterVXUS 1.25
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: DFAX −27.8%, betterVXUS −28.9%
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: DFAX 0.97VXUS 0.92; Market = 1

DFAX and VXUS in the news

All news⁠

Best ETFs
Best international ETFs: one cheap fund, then the Korea choice
Updated Nov 2, 2026VXUS
Head-to-Head
Own the world's stocks with VT, or only the United States with VTI
Oct 23, 2026VXUS
Head-to-Head
VXUS already holds the stocks in VEA
Oct 19, 2026VXUS
New ETFs
Three new international stock funds, and none is the cheap one
Oct 5, 2026VXUS
New ETFs
Avantis lists an international stock ETF with Vanguard on top
Oct 5, 2026DFAX
Price vs Value
Vanguard showed a 1.94% discount on an energy fund that closed two cents above its value
Oct 4, 2026VXUS

Popular comparisons

DFAXBvsVEUA
Dimensional World ex U.S. Core Equity 2 ETF · Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US ETF
Expense ratio
0.28% · 0.04%
Category
VXUSAvsVEUA
Vanguard Total International Stock ETF · Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US ETF
Expense ratio
0.05% · 0.04%
Category
DFAXBvsIXUSA
Dimensional World ex U.S. Core Equity 2 ETF · iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF
Expense ratio
0.28% · 0.07%
Category
VXUSAvsIXUSA
Vanguard Total International Stock ETF · iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF
Expense ratio
0.05% · 0.07%
Category
DFAXBvsACWXB
Dimensional World ex U.S. Core Equity 2 ETF · iShares MSCI ACWI ex U.S. ETF
Expense ratio
0.28% · 0.32%
Category
VXUSAvsACWXB
Vanguard Total International Stock ETF · iShares MSCI ACWI ex U.S. ETF
Expense ratio
0.05% · 0.32%
Category

DFAX vs VXUS

In short

Stated mandate

Why people hold it