What Is VXUS? Vanguard Total International Stock ETF

VXUS is the Vanguard Total International Stock ETF, a single ticker that gives you ownership of roughly 8,500 stocks across developed and emerging markets outside the US, weighted by market capitalization. It tracks the FTSE Global All Cap ex US Index, which is designed to capture essentially the entire investable non-US equity market: large European and Japanese companies, Canadian and Australian leaders, and emerging-market names in China, India, Taiwan, and Brazil, all the way down into small caps. At a 0.05% expense ratio, it is one of the cheapest ways to own the whole world outside the US in one fund.

The simplest way to understand VXUS is as the mirror image of VTI. Where VTI is the total US market, VXUS is the total non-US market, and the two do not overlap at all. Held together, VTI plus VXUS equals VT, the whole world in two funds. That is the entire purpose of VXUS: it is the international building block of a two-fund portfolio, the piece a US-only core leaves out.

Approximate weights as of early 2026; refresh quarterly from Vanguard's fund page. Each ticker links to its individual stock guide in Walnut.

Because VXUS holds no US stocks, its top holdings look nothing like a US fund: Taiwan Semiconductor, Tencent, SAP, ASML, Nestle, Novo Nordisk, Toyota, AstraZeneca, HSBC, and Alibaba sit at the top, each at roughly 1-2.5%. See the top-10 table above for current weights. The fund is strikingly diversified: the top 10 make up only around 11% of assets, far less concentrated than a US-only core where a handful of mega-caps dominate.

The other roughly 8,490 holdings spread across more than 40 countries. Developed markets outside the US (Europe, Japan, Canada, Australia) are the largest block, with emerging markets (China, India, Taiwan, Brazil and others) a meaningful slice on top. That combination is what distinguishes VXUS from narrower international funds: it captures both developed and emerging non-US markets in one ticker, automatically, without you having to manage separate developed and emerging positions.

All three are Vanguard international funds, but they cover different geographies. VEA holds developed markets only: Europe, Japan, Canada, Australia, and no emerging markets. VWO is the opposite, emerging markets only: China, India, Taiwan, Brazil and others. VXUS (0.05%) is the two combined into one fund at market-cap weight, so it holds what VEA and VWO hold together.

The practical choice is one fund versus two. VXUS is the simplest path to full international exposure: a single ticker covering both developed and emerging markets, no decisions required. Holding VEA plus VWO yourself lets you tilt the developed-versus-emerging split to your own taste (some investors want more or less emerging-market risk than the default), but it requires managing and rebalancing two positions. VXUS trades that control for simplicity, which is why it is the common pick for the international sleeve of a portfolio.

VXUS's total return comes from price appreciation across its global non-US holdings plus a dividend that yields roughly 2.9%, paid quarterly, higher than a US fund because international stocks distribute more. Its returns track international markets, so over the past decade VXUS has generally trailed a US fund like VTI, because US large-caps led global equities through that stretch. In periods when international or emerging markets outperform, that relationship reverses, which is part of the diversification case.

That is the central thing to understand before buying: VXUS is exposure to everything outside the US, including currency and country risk, rather than a bet on US outperformance continuing. It is meant to be held alongside a US core, not instead of one. VXUS is best judged over full cycles and against an international benchmark rather than against the S&P 500, since tracking US-only returns is not what it is built to do.

VXUS is the standard international sleeve for investors building a two-fund portfolio: hold a US core like VTI or VOO, add VXUS for everything else, and you own the whole world while controlling the US-to-international split yourself. It suits people who want international diversification but prefer to set their own ratio rather than accept the fixed global weighting that a single-fund VT imposes.

Where it falls short: held by itself VXUS is concentrated entirely outside the US, so it is not a standalone core, and it carries currency and emerging-market risk that a domestic fund does not. In long stretches of US leadership it lags a US-only fund, which can test patience. It also pairs cleanly with VTI but is redundant against VT, which already includes the same international holdings. Walnut isn't an investment adviser and this isn't a recommendation, but in conversation Walnut's AI can show you how much international exposure you already carry and where VXUS fits as your non-US sleeve.

VXUS trades on Nasdaq during US market hours (9:30am to 4:00pm ET) and is available commission-free at every major broker, including Robinhood, Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard, Public, M1, and Webull. Fractional shares are supported at most modern brokers, which lets you size the international sleeve precisely against your US core and reinvest the quarterly dividends automatically as fractional shares (DRIP).

Walnut doesn't replace your broker, it sits on top of it. Connect any major broker and Walnut adds an AI layer that helps you build baskets around VXUS, track how your holdings are doing against your targets, and rebalance when your US-to-international allocation drifts.

VXUS is the entire non-US stock market in one ticker, developed plus emerging, at a 0.05% fee. It is the mirror image of VTI: holding VTI plus VXUS together equals VT (the whole world). It works as the international sleeve of a two-fund portfolio for investors who want to set their own US-to-international split, rather than as a standalone core.

Whether VXUS is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, concentration, and what would have to be true for it to outperform from here in is VXUS a buy?

VXUS yields ~2.9% as of early 2026, paid by passing through the dividends of its underlying holdings. For the payout schedule, history, and how the distributions are taxed, see VXUS dividend: yield and schedule.