Should Vanguard S&P 500 Growth Index Fund ETF Shares (VOOG) Be on Your Investing Radar?

Launched on September 9, 2010, the Vanguard S&P 500 Growth Index Fund ETF Shares (VOOG) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by Vanguard. It has amassed assets over $21.30 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Growth

Large cap companies usually have a market capitalization above $10 billion. Considered a more stable option, large cap companies boast more predictable cash flows and are less volatile than their mid and small cap counterparts.

While growth stocks do boast higher than average sales and earnings growth rates, and they are expected to grow faster than the wider market, investors should note these kinds of stocks have higher valuations. Also, growth stocks are a type of equity that carries more risk compared to others. Compared to value stocks, growth stocks are a safer bet in a strong bull market, but don't perform as strongly in almost all other financial environments.

Costs

When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts in the long term if all other factors remain equal.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.07%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.52%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector -- about 48.4% of the portfolio. Telecom and Financials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Nvidia Corp (NVDA) accounts for about 14.47% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT) and Apple Inc (AAPL).

The top 10 holdings account for about 43.39% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

VOOG seeks to match the performance of the S&P 500 Growth Index before fees and expenses. The S&P 500 Growth Index measures the performance of large-capitalization growth stocks.

The ETF has lost about 5.27% so far this year and is up roughly 26.98% in the last one year (as of 03/16/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $299.15 and $455.46.

The ETF has a beta of 1.15 and standard deviation of 18.23% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 146 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Vanguard S&P 500 Growth Index Fund ETF Shares holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, VOOG is an outstanding option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The Vanguard Growth Index Fund ETF Shares (VUG) and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ) track a similar index. While Vanguard Growth Index Fund ETF Shares has $191.41 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $383.00 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.03% and QQQ charges 0.18%.

Bottom-Line

An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.

To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.

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Vanguard S&P 500 Growth Index Fund ETF Shares (VOOG): ETF Research Reports

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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