Side by side
Compare two ETFs
Pick two funds and we’ll line them up in plain English — what each one holds, what it costs you in dollars, and where they actually differ. No jargon, no advice.
Global shares
VGS
Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF
Vanguard
Global shares
VGAD
Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares (Hedged) ETF
Vanguard
What each one holds
Around 1,250 large and medium-sized companies from developed countries around the world — everywhere except Australia — held together in one parcel.
The same basket as Vanguard's international shares fund — around 1,250 large and medium-sized developed-market companies outside Australia — but with the foreign-currency exposure hedged back to Australian dollars.
What the fee costs you
The signature ClearOrigin device — each management fee translated into a dollar figure. Set one amount and we’ll show what each fund’s fee costs you a year, lined up side by side.
VGS · 0.18% a year
about $18 a year on $10,000
VGAD · 0.21% a year
about $21 a year on $10,000
A rough guide based on the headline fee only. Other costs (such as brokerage or buy/sell spreads) aren’t included.
The basics
- Issuer
- Vanguard
- Asset class
- Global shares
- Number of holdings
- ~1,250
- Where it invests
- Global developed markets, but heavily weighted to the United States — roughly three-quarters of the fund — with Japan, the UK and Europe making up much of the rest.
- Income paid
- Quarterly
- Currency hedged
- No — It's unhedged, so for an Australian investor the value also moves with the Australian dollar against the US dollar and other currencies, on top of the markets themselves.
- Issuer
- Vanguard
- Asset class
- Global shares
- Number of holdings
- ~1,250
- Where it invests
- Global developed markets, heavily weighted to the United States, with Japan, the UK and Europe making up much of the rest.
- Income paid
- Half-yearly
- Currency hedged
- Yes — Hedged back to Australian dollars, so day-to-day currency moves are largely removed — what you feel is mostly the underlying share markets.
Their character
Dominated by the same giant US names that lead world markets — Nvidia, Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon sit at the top — so despite holding over a thousand companies, its top handful carry real weight.
The currency-hedged twin of VGS: same global companies, led by the big US names, but built to strip out the effect of currency swings so your return tracks the markets themselves rather than the Australian dollar.
What to keep in mind
Spread across many countries and companies, which softens single-market risk — but it still leans heavily on the United States and a handful of large technology firms, and carries currency movements for an Australian holder.
Spread across many countries and companies, but still concentrated in the United States and large technology firms. Hedging removes most currency swings, leaving the share-market ups and downs.
How they overlap
VGS and VGAD sit in the same broad category — global shares — so they tend to own many of the same kinds of companies and rise and fall together. Holding both isn't automatically twice the diversification; it's often closer to a slightly different cut of the same slice.
Figures last verified — VGS: 2026-06-12 · VGAD: 2026-06-12. Sources are linked from each fund’s profile.