Which Is the Better ETF for Growth Stocks, Vanguard's VONG or iShares' IWO?

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The Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth ETF (NASDAQ:VONG) focuses connected large-cap leaders with little costs, portion the iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF (NYSEMKT:IWO) targets smaller, much volatile maturation companies with higher caller returns.

Investors seeking maturation often take betwixt the stableness of ascendant large-cap leaders and the high-octane imaginable of smaller firms. While some funds people maturation characteristics, their marketplace headdress absorption leads to antithetic volatility profiles. This examination examines however a large-cap maturation powerhouse matches up against a small-cap maturation specialist, looking astatine whether higher caller returns warrant the further risk.

Snapshot (cost & size)

Metric

VONG

IWO

Issuer

Vanguard

iShares

Expense ratio

0.06%

0.24%

1-yr instrumentality (as of May 6, 2026)

32.6%

41.3%

Dividend yield

0.4%

0.4%

Beta

1.15

1.46

AUM

$50.6 billion

$14.3 billion

Beta measures terms volatility comparative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated from five-year monthly returns. The 1-yr instrumentality represents full instrumentality implicit the trailing 12 months. Dividend output is the trailing-12-month organisation yield.

The Vanguard money is importantly much affordable, maintaining an disbursal ratio of 0.06% compared to the 0.24% charged by the iShares fund. This 0.18 percent constituent spread means the iShares money costs 4 times arsenic overmuch annually arsenic its large-cap counterpart, which tin interaction full returns implicit agelong horizons. Both ETFs connection an identical trailing-12-month organisation output of 0.4%.

Performance & hazard examination

Metric

VONG

IWO

Max drawdown (5 yr)

(32.7%)

(40.5%)

Growth of $1,000 implicit 5 years (total return)

$1,974

$1,294

The iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF provides vulnerability to 1,093 small-cap stocks, focusing connected healthcare astatine 25%, exertion astatine 22%, and industrials astatine 21%. Its largest positions see Bloom Energy (NYSE:BE) astatine 3.71%, Credo Technology Group (NASDAQ:CRDO) astatine 1.79%, and Sterling Infrastructure (NASDAQ:STRL) astatine 1.38%. Launched successful 2000, it has a trailing-12-month dividend of $1.51 per stock and tracks smaller firms with precocious maturation imaginable but often little established way records.

In contrast, the Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth ETF takes a much concentrated attack with 394 stocks, leaning heavy into exertion astatine 51%, user cyclical astatine 13%, and connection services astatine 12%. Top holdings see NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) astatine 12.90%, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) astatine 11.61%, and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) astatine 8.80%. Launched successful 2010, the money has paid $0.56 per stock implicit the trailing 12 months and emphasizes ascendant large-cap firms that often person greater entree to superior and much unchangeable currency flows.

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