URTH vs VEA: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

iShares MSCI World ETF

URTHBNYSE Arca

Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF

VEAANYSE Arca

Overlap

26.3%by weight

Expense ratio

VEA −0.21pt a year

URTH0.24%VEA0.03%

Avg volume · 30D

VEA 16.7×the volume

URTH613KVEA10.2M

10Y return · a year

URTH +3.2pt

URTH+13.1%VEA+9.9%

URTH vs VEA Performance

Nov 9, 2021 – Nov 9, 2026

+62.9%URTH+54.3%VEA

Expense ratio: URTH 0.24%; VEA 0.03%, better
Fund size: URTH $9.64B; VEA $232B
1Y total return: URTH +13.9%; VEA +18.4%, better
Yield (12M): URTH 1.39%; VEA 2.44%, better
Holdings: URTH 1268; VEA 3947
Avg volume (30D): URTH 613K sh; VEA 10.2M sh, better
NAV per share: URTH $199.60; VEA $67.77
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for URTH, VEA, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	URTH	VEA
Cost30% weight	D30	A90Higher
Mission25% weight	A94	A100Higher
Risk15% weight	C49Higher	C48
Tradability15% weight	A77Higher	B60
Holdings10% weight	D31	A78Higher
Durability5% weight	A71	A87Higher

Rank among Developed International Core funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. URTH and VEA are both graded against the same 20 Developed International Core funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

Developed International Core⁠

Category · 20 funds

See all 20 ›

VEA ranks 3rd and URTH 11th of 20 funds in the Developed International Core Category.

Rank 1AIDEViShares Core MSCI International Developed Markets ETFScore 82
Rank 2ASPDWState Street SPDR Portfolio Developed World ex-US ETFScore 81
Rank 3AVEAVanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETFScore 80
Rank 4ASCHFSchwab International Equity ETFScore 79
Rank 11BBBEUJPMorgan BetaBuilders Europe ETFScore 58
Rank 11BURTHiShares MSCI World ETFScore 58
Rank 13BFLEEFranklin FTSE Europe ETFScore 57

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

URTHBiShares MSCI World ETF

VEAAVanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF

In short

URTH Most developed-market ETFs hand you everything except America. URTH takes MSCI World whole, US included, so one ticker holds large and mid caps across 23 developed countries.

VEA Everything developed outside the US in one line item: roughly 3,900 stocks across Canada, Europe and the Pacific, small caps included. Vanguard has run it since 2007 at three basis points.

Stated mandate

URTH The fund seeks to track an index representing developed-market equities from around the globe.

VEA Seeks to track the FTSE Developed All Cap ex US Index through an indexing strategy investing substantially all assets in the index’s large-, mid-, and small-cap stocks across Canada, Europe, and the Pacific region.

Why people hold it

URTH One ticket for the developed world: roughly 1,300 large and mid caps across 23 developed countries, covering about 85% of each market's free-float value.msci.com
Trading since 2012 under the iShares roof, and it stays close to the MSCI World index it promises.
A multi-billion-dollar fund that changes hands actively, which tends to keep spreads narrow on ordinary-size orders.
Sits in the upper half of its developed-market index peer group.

VEA Charges 0.03% a year against a 0.18% median for its peer group. Low cost is the whole point of index exposure, and this sits at the cheap end of it.
The index reaches down to small caps and keeps Canada in, so you own about 3,900 companies across Canada, Europe and the Pacific, not just the mega-cap layer.vanguard.com
Tracks its FTSE benchmark closely and trades in heavy volume, which keeps the spread to get in or out slim, whether the order is small or institutional.
Live since 2007 and one of the largest international stock funds on the market. Distributions come quarterly.

Worth knowing

URTH 0.24% a year is above the typical fee in this cohort. Ex-US peers VEA, SPDW and SCHF charge 0.03%, but they leave the US slice for you to add separately.
Market-cap weighted, so the US, the largest developed market, carries the heaviest weight and the mega caps set the tone.msci.com
Developed markets, large and mid caps only: no emerging markets, no small caps.msci.com

VEA Developed markets only, and no US stocks. Emerging markets and the home market sit outside the mandate entirely.vanguard.com
The 0.03% fee is matched, not owned: SPDW and SCHF price the same and IDEV is a hair above. The separator here is index construction, not cost.
Plain index exposure, no buffer or downside protection. Foreign markets and the small-cap sleeve can swing hard, and the fund holds the full ride.

Full URTH profile⁠

Full VEA profile⁠

URTH vs VEA Holdings

How URTH and VEA differ

Overlap by weight

26.3%

Shared holdings make up 72.3% of VEA and 26.5% of URTH.

Level by level

Countryby domicile24.0%
Holdings690 in both26.3%
Sector11 Sectors78.9%
Asset classStocks100%

Sector

Sector weights in URTH and VEA, widest gap first
Sector	Gap	URTH	VEA
Technology	URTH +12.1 points	28.8%	16.7%
Financials	VEA +7.7 points	16.6%	24.3%
Industrials	VEA +7.3 points	10.4%	17.7%
Materials	VEA +4.1 points	3.2%	7.3%
Communication	URTH +4.0 points	7.5%	3.5%
Health Care	URTH +2.7 points	10.5%	7.8%
Consumer Discretionary	URTH +2.0 points	9.0%	7.0%
Energy	VEA +0.9 points	4.2%	5.1%
Real Estate	VEA +0.6 points	1.7%	2.3%
Utilities	VEA +0.5 points	2.5%	3.0%
Consumer Staples	URTH +0.3 points	5.5%	5.2%

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in URTH and VEA, widest gap first
Country	Gap	URTH	VEA
United States	URTH +76.0 points	76.0%	0.0%
Japan	VEA +15.8 points	6.1%	21.9%
South Korea	VEA +9.2 points	0.0%	9.2%
United Kingdom	VEA +7.3 points	3.8%	11.1%
Canada	VEA +7.1 points	3.7%	10.8%
France	VEA +4.1 points	2.5%	6.6%
Switzerland	VEA +4.0 points	2.6%	6.6%
Australia	VEA +3.9 points	1.7%	5.6%
Other countries (18)	VEA +24.5 points	3.7%	28.2%

Outside the US: URTH 100% developed, 0% emerging. VEA 89% developed, 11% emerging.

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

URTH26.6%
VEA13.5%

Securities held

URTH1,249
VEA3,921

Asset class

URTH: Stocks
VEA: Stocks

Holdings

Only in URTH559
In both690
Only in VEA3,231

Only in URTH

559 securities, 73.3% of URTH by weight

Apple5.74%
NVIDIA4.90%
Microsoft4.27%
Amazon.com Inc2.86%
Alphabet Class A1.91%
Meta Platforms Class A1.53%
Broadcom Inc1.51%
Alphabet Class C1.51%
Eli Lilly1.24%
Tesla Inc1.17%
JPMorgan Chase & Co1.01%
Berkshire Hathaway Inc Class B0.92%
Micron Technology0.89%
Advanced Micro Devices0.84%
Visa Class A0.80%
Exxonmobil Holdings Corp0.78%
Johnson & Johnson0.76%
Walmart0.63%
Mastercard Class A0.60%
AbbVie0.59%
Costco Wholesale Corp0.53%
Chevron0.45%
Procter & Gamble0.44%
Coca-Cola0.42%
Cisco Systems Inc0.42%
Merck & Co Inc0.41%
UnitedHealth Group0.41%
Palantir Technologies Class A0.40%
Home Depot0.39%
Ge Aerospace0.38%
Bank of America0.37%
Philip Morris International0.35%
Netflix0.30%
Applied Material Inc0.30%
Thermo Fisher Scientific0.29%
Caterpillar Inc0.29%
Wells Fargo0.29%
Rtx0.29%
Goldman Sachs Group0.29%
Palo Alto Networks0.29%
Texas Instrument0.29%
Lam Research0.29%
Amgen Inc0.28%
Intel Corporation0.28%
Linde PLC0.27%
International Business Machines Co0.26%
Crowdstrike Holdings Class A0.25%
Morgan Stanley0.24%
Ge Vernova0.24%
Gilead Sciences0.24%

Only in VEA

3,231 securities, 28.0% of VEA by weight

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd2.80%
SK hynix Inc2.28%
SLBBH11421.06%
Samsung Electronics-Pref0.35%
EURO STOXX 50 Dec260.26%
Eur/Usd Fwd 202612160.24%
Air Liquide SA0.23%
SK Square Co Ltd0.23%
TOPIX INDX FUTR Dec260.22%
L'Oreal SA0.20%
Nordea Bank Abp0.20%
Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co Ltd0.19%
Basf SE0.15%
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd0.14%
Ferrari NV0.14%
KB Financial Group Inc0.13%
Waste Connections Inc0.12%
Usd/Chf Fwd 202612160.11%
Hyundai Motor Co0.10%
STMicroelectronics NV0.10%
Lenovo Group Ltd0.10%
Shinhan Financial Group Co Ltd0.10%
Teck Resources Ltd0.10%
Engie SA0.09%
Powszechna Kasa Oszczednosci Bank Polski SA0.08%
AIB Group PLC0.08%
adidas AG0.08%
Doosan Enerbility Co Ltd0.08%
Ferrovial NV0.08%
Hana Financial Group Inc0.08%
Hanwha Aerospace Co Ltd0.07%
Samsung SDI Co Ltd0.07%
Orlen SA0.07%
NAVER Corp0.07%
Amrize Ltd0.06%
Cad/Usd Fwd 202612160.06%
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners PLC0.06%
Samsung C&T Corp0.06%
Kia Corp0.06%
Celltrion Inc0.06%
Bombardier Inc0.06%
Usd/Gbp Fwd 202612160.05%
Aud/Usd Fwd 202612160.05%
Woori Financial Group Inc0.05%
Investor AB0.05%
POSCO Holdings Inc0.05%
Samsung Life Insurance Co Ltd0.05%
LG Electronics Inc0.05%
National Bank of Greece SA0.05%
Edp SA0.05%

Weight gaps

The 100 widest of 690 Holdings in both funds.

Holding weights in URTH and VEA, widest gap first
Holding	Gap	URTH	VEA
Asml Holding	VEA +1.50 points	0.63%	2.13%
Hsbc Holdings PLCHSBA.L	VEA +0.70 points	0.34%	1.04%
Mitsubishi Ufj Financial Group	VEA +0.53 points	0.25%	0.78%
Royal Bank of Canada	VEA +0.53 points	0.32%	0.85%
ShellSHEL.L	VEA +0.52 points	0.33%	0.85%
Roche Ps Par AG	VEA +0.52 points	0.38%	0.90%
Novartis AG	VEA +0.48 points	0.34%	0.82%
Siemens N AG	VEA +0.45 points	0.24%	0.69%
Bhp Group Ltd	VEA +0.43 points	0.23%	0.66%
Astrazeneca PLCAZN.L	VEA +0.43 points	0.32%	0.74%
Banco Santander	VEA +0.42 points	0.20%	0.62%
Nestle SA	VEA +0.41 points	0.31%	0.72%
Schneider Electric	VEA +0.39 points	0.16%	0.55%
Tokyo Electron	VEA +0.38 points	0.13%	0.51%
Softbank Group Corp	VEA +0.37 points	0.10%	0.47%
Toronto Dominion	VEA +0.37 points	0.23%	0.60%
Toyota Motor	VEA +0.36 points	0.23%	0.59%
Sap	VEA +0.36 points	0.27%	0.63%
Shopify Subordinate Voting Class A	VEA +0.35 points	0.21%	0.56%
Advantest	VEA +0.34 points	0.15%	0.49%
Rolls-Royce Holdings PLCRR.L	VEA +0.34 points	0.16%	0.50%
Kioxia Holdings	VEA +0.34 points	0.07%	0.41%
Allianz	VEA +0.33 points	0.22%	0.55%
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group	VEA +0.33 points	0.16%	0.49%
Totalenergies	VEA +0.33 points	0.20%	0.53%
Hitachi	VEA +0.33 points	0.14%	0.47%
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria	VEA +0.32 points	0.16%	0.48%
Commonwealth Bank of Australia	VEA +0.32 points	0.22%	0.54%
Abb Ltd	VEA +0.30 points	0.15%	0.45%
Iberdrola	VEA +0.30 points	0.18%	0.48%
Ubs Group AG	VEA +0.29 points	0.17%	0.46%
Mizuho Financial Group	VEA +0.28 points	0.12%	0.40%
Recruit Holdings	VEA +0.28 points	0.16%	0.44%
Unicredit	VEA +0.28 points	0.13%	0.41%
Safran SA	VEA +0.27 points	0.13%	0.40%
Siemens Energy N AG	VEA +0.25 points	0.12%	0.37%
Sony Group	VEA +0.25 points	0.18%	0.43%
Dbs Group Holdings Ltd	VEA +0.25 points	0.13%	0.38%
Intesa Sanpaolo	VEA +0.24 points	0.11%	0.35%
Airbus Group	VEA +0.24 points	0.15%	0.39%
Bank of Montreal	VEA +0.23 points	0.13%	0.36%
Unilever PLCULVR.L	VEA +0.23 points	0.16%	0.39%
Novo Nordisk Class B	VEA +0.22 points	0.15%	0.37%
Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA	VEA +0.22 points	0.13%	0.35%
Bp PLCBP.L	VEA +0.22 points	0.13%	0.35%
Bank of Nova Scotia	VEA +0.21 points	0.13%	0.34%
Keyence	VEA +0.21 points	0.08%	0.29%
Ing Groep	VEA +0.20 points	0.11%	0.31%
Murata Manufacturing	VEA +0.21 points	0.06%	0.27%
Lvmh	VEA +0.20 points	0.13%	0.33%
Bnp Paribas SA	VEA +0.20 points	0.12%	0.32%
British American TobaccoBATS.L	VEA +0.20 points	0.14%	0.34%
Enbridge	VEA +0.20 points	0.12%	0.32%
Deutsche Telekom N AG	VEA +0.20 points	0.11%	0.31%
Rio TintoRIO.L	VEA +0.20 points	0.10%	0.30%
Infineon Technologies AG	VEA +0.19 points	0.08%	0.27%
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce	VEA +0.19 points	0.12%	0.31%
Mitsubishi	VEA +0.18 points	0.11%	0.29%
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd	VEA +0.19 points	0.11%	0.30%
GlaxosmithklineGSK.L	VEA +0.18 points	0.12%	0.30%
Tokio Marine Holdings	VEA +0.18 points	0.11%	0.29%
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries	VEA +0.18 points	0.07%	0.25%
Itochu	VEA +0.18 points	0.09%	0.27%
Aia Group	VEA +0.18 points	0.12%	0.30%
Agnico Eagle Mines	VEA +0.18 points	0.11%	0.29%
Zurich Insurance Group AG	VEA +0.18 points	0.13%	0.31%
Lloyds Banking Group PLCLLOY.L	VEA +0.17 points	0.08%	0.25%
Oversea-Chinese Banking	VEA +0.17 points	0.08%	0.25%
Fast Retailing	VEA +0.17 points	0.08%	0.25%
Barclays PLCBARC.L	VEA +0.16 points	0.09%	0.25%
National Australia Bank	VEA +0.16 points	0.10%	0.26%
Sanofi SA	VEA +0.16 points	0.11%	0.27%
Glencore PLCGLEN.L	VEA +0.16 points	0.07%	0.23%
Mitsui	VEA +0.16 points	0.08%	0.24%
Westpac Banking Corporation	VEA +0.16 points	0.10%	0.26%
Suncor Energy Inc	VEA +0.16 points	0.09%	0.25%
Natwest Group PLCNWG.L	VEA +0.15 points	0.07%	0.22%
Anz Group Holdings Ltd	VEA +0.16 points	0.09%	0.25%
Axa SA	VEA +0.15 points	0.09%	0.24%
Bae Systems PLCBA.L	VEA +0.15 points	0.08%	0.23%
Panasonic Holdings	VEA +0.15 points	0.05%	0.20%
Shin Etsu Chemical	VEA +0.15 points	0.06%	0.21%
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing	VEA +0.14 points	0.04%	0.18%
National Grid PLCNG.L	VEA +0.14 points	0.09%	0.23%
Canadian Pacific Kansas City	VEA +0.14 points	0.09%	0.23%
Brookfield Class A	VEA +0.13 points	0.10%	0.23%
Mitsubishi Electric	VEA +0.14 points	0.06%	0.20%
Investor Class B	VEA +0.13 points	0.09%	0.22%
Manulife Financial	VEA +0.14 points	0.08%	0.22%
Fujikura	VEA +0.14 points	0.03%	0.17%
Enel	VEA +0.13 points	0.10%	0.23%
Barrick Mining	VEA +0.13 points	0.08%	0.21%
Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA	VEA +0.12 points	0.09%	0.21%
Muenchener Rueckversicherungs-Gese	VEA +0.13 points	0.09%	0.22%
Industria De Diseno Textil SA	VEA +0.13 points	0.08%	0.21%
Anglo American PLCAAL.L	VEA +0.12 points	0.06%	0.18%
Canadian National Railway	VEA +0.13 points	0.07%	0.20%
Argenx	VEA +0.12 points	0.06%	0.18%
Deutsche Bank AG	VEA +0.12 points	0.07%	0.19%
Wheaton Precious Metals	VEA +0.12 points	0.07%	0.19%

All 1,250 URTH holdings⁠All 3,903 VEA 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.

URTH vs VEA Cost

Overpaying URTH vs VEA

$4,321

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

URTH 0.24%
$4,959
VEA 0.03%
$638

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

URTH 0.24%
VEA 0.03%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	URTH	VEA	Overpaying
10	$437	$55	$382
20	$1,699	$216	$1,483
30	$4,959	$638	$4,321

Expense ratio

0.24%URTH
0.03%VEA, cheaper

VEA0.03%URTH0.24%

0.03%0.70%

Middle half of Developed International Core funds
Median 0.10%

VEA cheapest of 20 funds

URTH 14th cheapest of 20 funds

URTH vs VEA Dividends

Last 12 months to Nov 9, 2026

Yield (12M): URTH 1.39%; VEA 2.44%, better
Payout (12M): URTH $2.84; VEA $1.70
Last payment: URTH $1.34; VEA $0.18
Ex-dividend: URTH Jun 15, 2026; VEA Sep 18, 2026
Paid on: URTH Jun 18, 2026; VEA Sep 22, 2026
Frequency: URTH Twice a year; VEA Quarterly

Distribution history

Per share, 2017 to 2026, same scale for both

URTHTwice a year · 21 paymentsAll URTH payments⁠

VEAQuarterly · 39 paymentsAll VEA payments⁠

URTH vs VEA Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

URTH
VEA

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: URTH 11.4%, betterVEA 12.9%
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: URTH 1.45, betterVEA 1.25
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: URTH −26.0%, betterVEA −29.2%
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: URTH 0.96VEA 0.97; Market = 1

URTH and VEA in the news

All news⁠

Head-to-Head
VEA over SCHF if this is your only developed-markets fund
Nov 4, 2026VEA
Best ETFs
Best international ETFs: one cheap fund, then the Korea choice
Updated Nov 2, 2026VEA
Best ETFs
Vanguard's total international fund is the one-fund pick, and Korea splits the rest
Updated Oct 2, 2026VEA
First-Year Review
Vanguard Emerging Markets ex-China returned 27.4%; iShares MSCI ex China returned 48.6%
Oct 1, 2026VEA
ETF Filings
Transamerica files TAVI, a Great Lakes EAFE ETF, as a $4.27 billion fund changes sub-adviser
Sep 22, 2026VEA
Deep Dive
Hedged Japan funds rose 0.7% as the yen fell; VGK dropped 1.8%
Sep 20, 2026VEA

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URTH vs VEA

In short

Stated mandate

Why people hold it