Which ETFs diversify VOO the most?
Over the 156 weeks to 2026-10-12, among 30 large US ETFs, the bond ETF with the lowest weekly correlation with VOO was SHY, at 0.03, the commodity ETF GLD, at 0.14, and the sector stock ETF XLE, at 0.17.
Correlation measures how two ETFs move together: 1 means always together, 0 means no link, below 0 means opposite.
Measurement, not investment advice.
What are the top 3 ETFs that diversify VOO most?
Out of the 30 large US ETFs of the list, the lowest weekly correlation with VOO, one ETF per group so that the 3 are different kinds of exposure, lowest first.
1Bonds
iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF
0.03weekly correlation with VOO
Moved almost independently of VOO
- When VOO fell-0.28 correlation over the 61 weeks VOO fell: it tended to move the other way
- With 10% in it12.7% volatility, instead of 14.1% with VOO alone
2Commodities
SPDR Gold Shares
0.14weekly correlation with VOO
Moved almost independently of VOO
- When VOO fell0.17 correlation over the 61 weeks VOO fell: it moved almost independently
- With 10% in it13.1% volatility, instead of 14.1% with VOO alone
3Sector stocks
Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund
0.17weekly correlation with VOO
Moved almost independently of VOO
- When VOO fell0.69 correlation over the 61 weeks VOO fell: it moved mostly with it
- With 10% in it13.3% volatility, instead of 14.1% with VOO alone
How do the other 27 ETFs of the list compare?
The top 3 take one ETF per group; the others follow from 4, lowest correlation first, each with its weekly correlation with VOO and its correlation over the weeks VOO fell.
4IEFBonds
iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF
0.06Moved almost independently of VOO, 156 weeks
When VOO fell: -0.30
5TLTBonds
iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF
0.09Moved almost independently of VOO, 156 weeks
When VOO fell: -0.28
6BNDBonds
Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF
0.16Moved almost independently of VOO, 156 weeks
When VOO fell: -0.23
8XLUSector stocks
Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund
0.22Moved partly with VOO, 156 weeks
When VOO fell: 0.19
9LQDBonds
iShares iBoxx Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF
0.28Moved partly with VOO, 156 weeks
When VOO fell: -0.14
Show the other 21
10XLPSector stocks
Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund
0.30Moved partly with VOO, 156 weeks
When VOO fell: 0.19
11XLVSector stocks
Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund
0.41Moved partly with VOO, 156 weeks
When VOO fell: 0.30
12IGFSector stocks
iShares Global Infrastructure ETF
0.47Moved partly with VOO, 156 weeks
When VOO fell: 0.35
14VNQISector stocks
Vanguard Global ex-U.S. Real Estate ETF
0.56Moved mostly with VOO, 156 weeks
When VOO fell: 0.30
15SCHDUS stocks, lowest of its group
Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF
0.58Moved mostly with VOO, 156 weeks
When VOO fell: 0.61
16AVUVUS stocks
Avantis U.S. Small Cap Value ETF
0.66Moved mostly with VOO, 155 weeks
When VOO fell: 0.61
17HYGBonds
iShares iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond ETF
0.68Moved mostly with VOO, 156 weeks
When VOO fell: 0.48
18AVDVInternational stocks, lowest of its group
Avantis International Small Cap Value ETF
0.68Moved mostly with VOO, 155 weeks
When VOO fell: 0.62
19VWOEmerging market stocks, lowest of its group
Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF
0.71Moved mostly with VOO, 156 weeks
When VOO fell: 0.55
20USMVUS stocks
iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF
0.74Moved mostly with VOO, 156 weeks
When VOO fell: 0.61
21VEAInternational stocks
Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF
0.75Moved mostly with VOO, 156 weeks
When VOO fell: 0.61
22VXUSInternational stocks
Vanguard Total International Stock ETF
0.76Moved mostly with VOO, 156 weeks
When VOO fell: 0.61
25RSPUS stocks
Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF
0.84Moved closely with VOO, 156 weeks
When VOO fell: 0.78
27MTUMUS stocks
iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF
0.87Moved closely with VOO, 155 weeks
When VOO fell: 0.78
29QUALUS stocks
iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF
0.97Moved closely with VOO, 155 weeks
When VOO fell: 0.93
30VTIUS stocks
Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF
1.00Moved closely with VOO, 156 weeks
When VOO fell: 0.99
Weekly returns over the 156 weeks to 2026-10-12; down weeks are the 61 weeks VOO's weekly return was below zero. Overlap by weight from the issuer files of 2026-08-31 to 2026-10-12.
How did $100 grow in VOO, SHY, GLD and XLE?
The same 156 weeks for every line, to 2026-10-12. Where a coloured line moves differently from the black one, that ETF moved differently from VOO.
$100 in VOO became $192 over the 156 weeks from 2023-10-20 to 2026-10-12; in SHY $112, in GLD $208 and in XLE $161. Each line compounds the weekly returns the correlations are measured on.
How closely did SHY, GLD and XLE follow VOO, week by week?
The flatter the cloud, the less the ETF follows VOO.
Each dot is one of the 156 weeks to 2026-10-12. Its position across is the weekly return of VOO, and its height is the weekly return of the ETF named on the panel.
- The 61 down weeks, when VOO fell (left of the zero line)
- The other 95 weeks
SHY
Correlation 0.03, on down weeks -0.28
GLD
Correlation 0.14, on down weeks 0.17
XLE
Correlation 0.17, on down weeks 0.69
The panels use the same weeks and weekly returns as the correlations above. In every panel, the scale across runs from -10% to +10% and the scale up from -20% to +20%. The weekly returns come from the fund files of VOO, SHY, GLD and XLE.
How much do SHY, GLD and XLE overlap with VOO, and how volatile were they?
Overlap: the weight each ETF holds in companies VOO also holds, counted at the smaller weight; the lower, the less it repeats what you hold. Volatility: how much the weekly returns varied, annualised.
| ETF | Weekly correlation156 weeks to 2026-10-12 | On down weeksthe 61 weeks VOO fell | Overlapby weight with VOO | Volatilityannualised, 156 weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SHYiShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETFBonds | 0.03 | -0.28 | Holds bonds | 1.6% |
| ||||
| GLDSPDR Gold SharesCommodities | 0.14 | 0.17 | Holds gold | 18.6% |
| ||||
| XLEEnergy Select Sector SPDR FundSector stocks | 0.17 | 0.69 | 3.5% | 22.9% |
| ||||
| VOOthe ETF you hold | 14.1% | |||
| ||||
- With 10% in SHY and 90% in VOO, the portfolio's annualised weekly volatility over the 156 weeks to 2026-10-12 would have been 12.7% instead of 14.1%.
- With 10% in GLD and 90% in VOO, the portfolio's annualised weekly volatility over the 156 weeks to 2026-10-12 would have been 13.1% instead of 14.1%.
- With 10% in XLE and 90% in VOO, the portfolio's annualised weekly volatility over the 156 weeks to 2026-10-12 would have been 13.3% instead of 14.1%.
What do SHY, GLD and XLE hold, next to VOO?
Each ETF's weight in mega-cap tech, its largest sector or asset and its largest country outside the US, with VOO in the last row for comparison.
| ETF | Holdings file | Mega-cap tech | Largest sector or asset | Largest outside the US |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SHYiShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF | SEC Form N-PORT, 2026-05-31 | None | US Treasury notes and bonds 99.0%Money market funds 1.8% | Not measured |
| ||||
| GLDSPDR Gold Shares | Trust's own SEC filing, 2026-06-30 | None | Gold 100.0% | Not measured |
| ||||
| XLEEnergy Select Sector SPDR Fund | Issuer file, 2026-10-12 | 0.0% | Energy 99.8% | None, 99.8% US |
| ||||
| VOOthe ETF you hold | Issuer file, 2026-08-31 | 36.2% | Technology 37.9% | None, 100.0% US |
| ||||
Questions and answers
- Which ETF in each group of the list had the lowest weekly correlation with VOO?
- SHY 0.03 (bonds), GLD 0.14 (commodities), XLE 0.17 (sector stocks), SCHD 0.58 (US stocks), AVDV 0.68 (international stocks) and VWO 0.71 (emerging market stocks), over the 156 weeks to 2026-10-12, among 30 large US ETFs.
- How did SHY, GLD and XLE move on the weeks VOO fell?
- On the 61 weeks VOO fell, of the 156 to 2026-10-12, their weekly correlation with VOO was -0.28 for SHY, 0.17 for GLD and 0.69 for XLE.
- How would 10% in SHY, GLD or XLE have changed the volatility of VOO?
- Over the 156 weeks to 2026-10-12, the annualised weekly volatility of VOO was 14.1%; with 10% in SHY it would have been 12.7%, in GLD 13.1%, and in XLE 13.3%.
- How much of XLE is in companies VOO also holds?
- 100.0% of XLE's weight is in 21 holdings VOO also holds (by ticker); counted at the smaller of the two weights, the overlap is 3.5%. XOM, CVX and COP account for 1.01, 0.58 and 0.24 points of it. XLE holdings of 2026-10-12.
How each figure is measured, and the order of the table: how the numbers are produced.
The 30 ETFs and the rule
From the ETFs of the list, leaving out any ETF the portfolio holds: in each group, the ETF whose weekly returns had the lowest correlation with the portfolio's over the weeks both have, up to 156, compared before rounding; the answer opens on the 3 groups whose lowest is lowest, and an exact tie keeps the order of the list.
- US stocks
- VTI, RSP, QQQ, VTV, SCHD, VO, IWM, AVUV, USMV, QUAL, MTUM
- Sector stocks
- XLU, XLP, XLV, XLE, VNQ, VNQI, IGF
- International stocks
- VXUS, VEA, AVDV
- Emerging market stocks
- VWO
- Bonds
- BND, SHY, IEF, TLT, TIP, LQD, HYG
- Commodities
- GLD
Chosen on 2026-10-10: 30 large US ETFs across six kinds of exposure, one ETF per exposure, the same list for every portfolio. Left out on purpose: S&P 500 ETFs weighted by company size, near duplicates of VTI; sector ETFs for technology, financials, industrials, consumer discretionary, communication services and materials; Treasury bills; single commodities other than gold; gold miners; bitcoin; and leveraged, inverse and volatility products. The list and its weekly returns as one file: candidates.json.
