Have you decided to start investing but unsure which to choose between VTSAX vs VFIAX? I've got you covered. #vtsax #vfiax #vanguardindexfunds If you want to keep investing as simple as possible and only invest in one stock market index fund, should it be a total stock market index fund VTSAX or a S&P 500 index fund VFIAX? To answer this question, let’s compare the two: VTSAX – Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Admiral Shares VFIAX – Vanguard 500 Index Fund Admiral Shares Both have an expense ratio of .03% Both are mutual funds Both require a minimum of a $3,000 deposit Both a considered to be LARGE blend stocks VTSAX comprises of 3,637 stocks and has a 1.82% dividend yield VFIAX comprises of 509 stocks and has a 1.93% dividend yield 1. VTSAX is composed of 3,637 individual stocks, compared to just 509 for VFIAX. 2. The dividend yield for VTSAX (1.82%) is slightly lower than that of VFIAX (1.93%), which could make a small difference for investors who are looking for higher-yielding funds. The biggest difference between these two funds is their composition: VTSAX holds far more stocks than VFIAX. So, let’s take a look at this difference in composition and see if it impacts performance at all. As the name suggests, the S&P 500 is composed of the largest 500 publicly traded companies in the U.S. There are 509 stocks in the index, though, because some companies have more than one “class” of stock. For example, Berkshire Hathaway has class A and class B shares. Thus, VFIAX is composed of the 509 largest stocks in the U.S. On the other hand, VTSAX is composed of every single publicly traded stock in the U.S. At the time of this writing, that amounts to 3,637 individual stocks. This means that VFIAX is just a subset of VTSAX. That is, VTSAX includes all 509 stocks that are in VFIAX as well as an additional 3,128 smaller stocks. These 3,128 smaller stocks are known as mid-cap and small-cap stocks since their market capitalizations are smaller than the large-cap stocks in the S&P 500 index fund. It’s important to note that since VTSAX is market-cap weighted, the 3,128 smaller stocks actually only comprise a small portion of the total fund. In fact, about 75% of VTSAX is composed of stocks in the S&P 500. In addition, most people don’t realize just how large the largest stocks in the S&P 500 are relative to the other stocks in the index. For example, at the time of this writing the top 10 holdings for VFIAX account for 22.7% of the entire fund: Create an account through these links and receive free stock. Robinhood: join.robinhood.com/travort2 M1 Financial: https://m1.finance/fNaubAzYAYJY Say Hi on Social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tray.truitt Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lets_talk_f... Twitter: https://twitter.com/Tray_Truitt LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tray-trui... Subscribe here!!! https://www.youtube.com/c/LetsTalkFin... DISCLAIMERS & DISCLOSURES This content is for education and entertainment purposes only. Tray does not provide tax or investment advice. The information is being presented without consideration of the investment objectives, risk tolerance, or financial circumstances of any specific investor and might not be suitable for all investors. Past performance is not indicative of future results. All investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal.