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Do you want to invest internationally but are not sure which index fund you should choose?
Rest assured, I’ve got you covered.
In today’s article, we are going to dive into the details of FTIHX vs VTIAX. I will be providing you with all the information you need, so you can decide which fund to invest in.
FTIHX vs VTIAX – Which One Should You Invest In?
I want to start by saying that both Fidelity and Vanguard are among the best brokers you can invest with. Both are full-service brokerages with great reputations.
You can’t go wrong with either one.
Now we got that out of the way, let’s dive in.
Go with the one you already have an account with
Do you already have an account with one of these brokerages? If so, just invest in the fund you already have an account with.
If you try to invest in a fund from another brokerage, you will be charged a transactional fee.
Look what happens when I try to buy a Vanguard fund with my Fidelity account. I get charged a a $75 fee!
Avoid paying the unnecessary fee by investing in the fund you have an account with. You can’t go wrong with either one of them.
If you don’t have an account with either one yet, or you want to learn more about the two funds, keep reading.
FTIHX vs VTIAX – An In-depth Comparison
Inception Date
The fund’s inception date is the date it was launched to the public.
Both funds are fairly young, but Vanguard created theirs six years before Fidelity.
| FTIHX | VTIAX |
| June 7, 2016 | November 29, 2010 |
Benchmark
A benchmark is an index that each fund tracks. The fund’s performance can be measured against the benchmark to see how well it’s performing.
They both track different indexes, therefore, their holdings and asset allocations will slightly differ.
| FTIHX | VTIAX |
| Morgan Stanley Capital International All Country World Index (MSCI ACWI) ex USA Index | FTSE Global All Cap ex US Index |
Expense Ratio
A fund’s expense ratio is how much the fund is going to charge you per year for operating costs and management fees.
Both funds have extremely low expense ratios, but Vanguard’s fund is a bit higher.
| FTIHX | VTIAX |
| 0.06% | 0.11% |
| $6.00 for every $10,000 invested per year | $11.00 for every $10,000 invested per year |
Assets Under Management (AUM)
AUM is the total amount of money that people currently have invested in the fund.
VTAIX has more than five times the amount of net assets as FTIHX.
But remember, the AUM is not a good measurement to decipher if a fund is a good investment or not. You can take it into consideration, but give greater weight to things such as the expense ratio, holdings, and diversification.
| FTIHX | VTIAX |
| $7.7 billion | $340 billion |
Holdings
Below is a list of the top 10 holdings of each fund, and the number of holdings in total.
As you can see below, Vanguard’s VTIAX has about 2,800 more stocks than Fidelity’s FTIHX.
| FTIHX | VTIAX | |
| 1 | Taiwan Semiconductor (1.54%) | Taiwan Semiconductor (1.50%) |
| 2 | Nestle (1.26%) | Nestle (1.24%) |
| 3 | Tencent Holdings (0.99%) | Tencent Holdings (0.95%) |
| 4 | Roche Hldgs AG (0.84%) | Roche Hldgs AG (0.86%) |
| 5 | Samsung (0.80%) | Samsung (0.80%) |
| 6 | Shell PLC (0.77%) | Shell PLC (0.76%) |
| 7 | ASML Holding NV (0.76%) | AstraZeneca PLC UK (0.73%) |
| 8 | AstraZeneca PLC UK (0.73%) | ASML Holding NV (0.71%) |
| 9 | Alibaba (0.69%) | Toyota Motor Corp. (0.69%) |
| 10 | Novo-Nordisk (0.69%) | Alibaba (0.69%) |
| % of portfolio | 9.08% | 8.93% |
| Total # of Holdings | 5,077 | 7,837 |
Minimum Investment Requirement
Fidelity’s FTIHX does not have a minimum investment requirement. That means you can start investing in the fund for as little as one dollar.
However, Vanguard’s VTIAX has a minimum investment requirement of a whopping $2,500. After the initial investment, additional investments can be made in one-dollar increments. This may be a deal breaker for some people because not everyone has a couple grand just laying around they can immediately invest.
Another way around this is investing in VTIAX’s ETF equivalent, VXUS. Vanguard offers fractional shares on ETF, so you can start investing with just $1.
| FTIHX | VTIAX |
| $0 | $2,500 |
Regional Diversification
Let’s take a look at how each fund allocates its assets.
This is probably the most important information you should take into consideration before choosing a fund to invest in.
Both funds hold similar ratios for each region. FTIHX is a little more tilted toward emerging markets whereas VTIAX is slightly tilted toward Asia-Pacific. FTIHX has 0.17% of its holdings invested in the U.S., but that amount is negligible.
| FTIHX | VTIAX |
| Europe (39.08%) | Europe (38.00%) |
| Emerging Markets (28.01%) | Asia-Pacific (27.30%) |
| Asia-Pacific (23.70%) | Emerging Markets (26.30%) |
| Canada (8.10%) | Canada (7.80%) |
| Middle East (1.25%) | Middle East (0.60%) |
| United States (0.17%) | |
| Other (-0.31%) |
FTIHX vs VTIAX Conclusion
When comparing FTIHX vs VTIAX, it pretty much boils down to these two things:
- Which brokerage do you already have an account with?
- Can you afford the $2,500 minimum investment requirement for VTIAX?
If you already have an account with one, go with the fund you already have an account with. If you can’t afford the $2,500, go with Fidelity or use VXUS instead.
Both funds offer excellent diversification for small expense ratios and you can’t go wrong with either one!
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