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16 important things you should know about Vanguard VUG ETF
Updated: September 09, 2021
100
Bull Case
- 3-year return above the benchmark
- 5-year return above the benchmark
- 10-year return above the benchmark
- 15-year return above the benchmark
- Low expense ratio
Bear Case
- No Bear case arguments for now!
Before we start: if you’re looking for VUG “stock” price, you can quickly find it out by visiting Finny and typing "VUG quote". If you’re looking for a quick scoop on VUG "stock" (price chart, key stats, buy or sell analysis and holdings), go to Finny and look for "VUG". You’ll get all this info in one place.
Are you looking to buy or sell VUG? Or perhaps you’re looking for VUG fact sheet, and learn about its alternatives? If so, you came to the right place.
In this VUG ETF review, we’ll address key questions our readers have been asking us about this fund, above and beyond what you can find in its prospectus, and on Morningstar or Yahoo Finance.
Here is what you’ll be able to find in this review:
- Fact Sheet: VUG performance, returns, expense ratio, holdings and dividend yield;
- Analysis: VUG buy or sell; the pros and cons of investing in VUG ETF;
- Alternatives: other ETFs and mutual funds you should consider as alternatives to VUG.
And here is the list of questions we’ll answer:
- Describe Vanguard Growth ETF - DNQ (VUG).
- What is VUG underlying index?
- What are VUG holdings?
- What is VUG performance? What are VUG historical returns?
- What is VUG dividend yield?
- What is VUG Finny Score? VUG buy or sell?
- What are the pros of investing in VUG? What are VUG buy reasons?
- What are the cons of investing in VUG? What are VUG sell reasons?
- Compare and contrast: VUG vs VV.
- Compare and contrast: VUG vs IVW.
- Compare and contrast: VUG vs IWF.
- Compare and contrast: VUG vs MGC.
- Compare and contrast: VUG vs VCR.
- Compare and contrast: VUG vs VOT.
- Compare and contrast: VUG vs VT.
So let’s start. Scroll down to the question that interests you the most.
Fact Sheet
1. Describe Vanguard Growth ETF - DNQ (VUG).
The Fund seeks to track the performance of a benchmark index that measures the investment return of large-capitalization growth stocks. The Fund employs a "passive management"--or indexing--investment approach designed to track the performance of the MSCI US Prime Market Growth Index.
3. What are VUG top holdings?
VUG has 287 stock holdings and 0 bond holdings.
The top 10 holdings represent 45.57% of total assets. Here are the top holdings:
| Name | Symbol | % Assets |
|---|---|---|
| Apple Inc | AAPL | 10.54% |
| Microsoft Corp | MSFT | 9.64% |
| Amazon.com Inc | AMZN | 8.13% |
| Facebook Inc A | FB | 3.98% |
| Alphabet Inc A | GOOGL | 3.05% |
| Alphabet Inc Class C | GOOG | 2.89% |
| Visa Inc Class A | V | 1.86% |
| NVIDIA Corp | NVDA | 1.85% |
| Tesla Inc | TSLA | 1.82% |
| The Home Depot Inc | HD | 1.81% |
4. What is VUG performance? What are VUG historical returns?
VUG has generated the following returns:
- 1-month return is 3.92%;
- 3-month return is 15.44%;
- 1-year return is 32.80%;
- 3-year return is 25.48%;
- 5-year return is 23.68%;
- 10-year return is 19.53%;
- 15-year return is 13.71%.
5. What is VUG dividend yield?
VUG yield is 0.57%.
Analysis
6. What is Finny Score? buy or sell?
Finny Score is 100. Our quantitative analysis shows 5 reasons to buy and 0 reasons to sell it, resulting in the Finny Score of 100.
7. What are the pros of investing in VUG? What are VUG buy reasons?
The following are VUG strengths from our perspective:
- VUG 3-year return is 25.48%, which is higher than the 3-year return of the benchmark index (S&P 500 TR USD), 18.21%.
- VUG 5-year return is 23.68%, which is higher than the 5-year return of the benchmark index (S&P 500 TR USD), 18%.
- VUG 10-year return is 19.53%, which is higher than the 10-year return of the benchmark index (S&P 500 TR USD), 16.82%.
- VUG 15-year return is 13.71%, which is higher than the 15-year return of the benchmark index (S&P 500 TR USD), 10.89%.
- VUG expense ratio is 0.04%, which is considered low. Nice job picking a low-cost fund.
8. What are the cons of investing in VUG? What are VUG negatives?
There are no visible red flags.
Alternatives
9. Compare and contrast: VUG vs VV.
Both VUG and VV are ETFs. VUG has a higher 5-year return than VV (23.68% vs 18.41%). VUG and VV have the same expense ratio (0.04%). Below is the comparison between VUG and VV.
| VUG | VV | |
|---|---|---|
| Segment | Equity: U.S. - Large Cap Growth | Equity: U.S. - Large Cap |
| Net Assets | $86.16B | $26.29B |
| Expense Ratio | 0.04% | 0.04% |
| Management Style | passive (index-based) | passive (index-based) |
| Underlying Index | CRSP US Large Cap Growth Index | CRSP US Large Cap Index |
| YTD Return | 22.18% | 21.58% |
| 1-Year Return | 32.8% | 33.88% |
| 3-Year Return | 25.48% | 18.87% |
| 5-Year Return | 23.68% | 18.41% |
| 10-Year Return | 19.53% | 16.92% |
| Dividend Yield | 0.57% | 1.26% |
VV profile: The Fund seeks to track the performance of a benchmark index that measures the investment return of large capitalization, U.S. stocks.
For further information, check out VUG vs VV comparison details.
10. Compare and contrast: VUG vs IVW.
Both VUG and IVW are ETFs. VUG has a higher 5-year return than IVW (23.68% vs 22.47%). VUG has a lower expense ratio than IVW (0.04% vs 0.18%). Below is the comparison between VUG and IVW.
| VUG | IVW | |
|---|---|---|
| Segment | Equity: U.S. - Large Cap Growth | Equity: U.S. - Large Cap Growth |
| Net Assets | $86.16B | $37.44B |
| Expense Ratio | 0.04% | 0.18% |
| Management Style | passive (index-based) | passive (index-based) |
| Underlying Index | CRSP US Large Cap Growth Index | S&P 500 Growth Index |
| YTD Return | 22.18% | 24.09% |
| 1-Year Return | 32.8% | 33.36% |
| 3-Year Return | 25.48% | 22.95% |
| 5-Year Return | 23.68% | 22.47% |
| 10-Year Return | 19.53% | 19.11% |
| Dividend Yield | 0.57% | 0.63% |
IVW profile: The Fund seeks investment results corresponding generally to price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the S&P 500/BARRA Growth Index. Uses a replication strategy to track the Index. The Index is a subset of the S&P 500 Index and consists of firms with the highest price-to-book ratios in the Index.
For further information, check out VUG vs IVW comparison details.
11. Compare and contrast: VUG vs IWF.
Both VUG and IWF are ETFs. VUG has a lower 5-year return than IWF (23.68% vs 24.11%). VUG has a lower expense ratio than IWF (0.04% vs 0.19%). Below is the comparison between VUG and IWF.
| VUG | IWF | |
|---|---|---|
| Segment | Equity: U.S. - Large Cap Growth | Equity: U.S. - Large Cap Growth |
| Net Assets | $86.16B | $75.79B |
| Expense Ratio | 0.04% | 0.19% |
| Management Style | passive (index-based) | passive (index-based) |
| Underlying Index | CRSP US Large Cap Growth Index | Russell 1000 Growth Index |
| YTD Return | 22.18% | 21.69% |
| 1-Year Return | 32.8% | 32.44% |
| 3-Year Return | 25.48% | 24.62% |
| 5-Year Return | 23.68% | 24.11% |
| 10-Year Return | 19.53% | 19.72% |
| Dividend Yield | 0.57% | 0.52% |
IWF profile: The Fund seeks investment returns that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Index. Uses a replication strategy. The Index measures the performance of the large-capitalization growth sector of the US equity market.
For further information, check out VUG vs IWF comparison details.
12. Compare and contrast: VUG vs MGC.
Both VUG and MGC are ETFs. VUG has a higher 5-year return than MGC (23.68% vs 18.95%). VUG has a lower expense ratio than MGC (0.04% vs 0.07%). Below is the comparison between VUG and MGC.
| VUG | MGC | |
|---|---|---|
| Segment | Equity: U.S. - Large Cap Growth | Equity: U.S. - Large Cap |
| Net Assets | $86.16B | $4.30B |
| Expense Ratio | 0.04% | 0.07% |
| Management Style | passive (index-based) | passive (index-based) |
| Underlying Index | CRSP US Large Cap Growth Index | CRSP US Mega Cap Index |
| YTD Return | 22.18% | 21.6% |
| 1-Year Return | 32.8% | 32.56% |
| 3-Year Return | 25.48% | 19.3% |
| 5-Year Return | 23.68% | 18.95% |
| 10-Year Return | 19.53% | 17.2% |
| Dividend Yield | 0.57% | 1.25% |
MGC profile: The Fund seeks to track the performance of a benchmark index that measures the investment return of the largest-capitalization stocks in the United States. The Fund employs indexing investment approach designed to track the performance of the CRSP US Mega Cap Index.
For further information, check out VUG vs MGC comparison details.
13. Compare and contrast: VUG vs VCR.
Both VUG and VCR are ETFs. VUG has a higher 5-year return than VCR (23.68% vs 22.02%). VUG has a lower expense ratio than VCR (0.04% vs 0.1%). Below is the comparison between VUG and VCR.
| VUG | VCR | |
|---|---|---|
| Segment | Equity: U.S. - Large Cap Growth | Equity: U.S. Consumer Cyclicals |
| Net Assets | $86.16B | $6.71B |
| Expense Ratio | 0.04% | 0.1% |
| Management Style | passive (index-based) | passive (index-based) |
| Underlying Index | CRSP US Large Cap Growth Index | MSCI US Investable Market Consumer Discretionary 25/50 Index |
| YTD Return | 22.18% | 16.65% |
| 1-Year Return | 32.8% | 35.25% |
| 3-Year Return | 25.48% | 22.7% |
| 5-Year Return | 23.68% | 22.02% |
| 10-Year Return | 19.53% | 20.37% |
| Dividend Yield | 0.57% | N/A |
VCR profile: The Fund seeks to track the performance of a benchmark index that measures the investment return of consumer discretionary stocks. Specifically the MSCI U.S. Investable Market Consumer Discretionary Index, an index of stocks of large-, mid-, and small-size U.S. companies within the consumer discretionary sector.
For further information, check out VUG vs VCR comparison details.
14. Compare and contrast: VUG vs VOT.
Both VUG and VOT are ETFs. VUG has a higher 5-year return than VOT (23.68% vs 19.44%). VUG has a lower expense ratio than VOT (0.04% vs 0.07%). Below is the comparison between VUG and VOT.
| VUG | VOT | |
|---|---|---|
| Segment | Equity: U.S. - Large Cap Growth | Equity: U.S. - Mid Cap Growth |
| Net Assets | $86.16B | $11.86B |
| Expense Ratio | 0.04% | 0.07% |
| Management Style | passive (index-based) | passive (index-based) |
| Underlying Index | CRSP US Large Cap Growth Index | CRSP US Mid Cap Growth Index |
| YTD Return | 22.18% | 18.57% |
| 1-Year Return | 32.8% | 39.12% |
| 3-Year Return | 25.48% | 21.43% |
| 5-Year Return | 23.68% | 19.44% |
| 10-Year Return | 19.53% | 16.56% |
| Dividend Yield | 0.57% | 0.4% |
VOT profile: The Fund seeks to track the performance of a benchmark index that measures the investment return of mid-capitalization growth stocks. The Fund employs an indexing investment approach designed to track the performance of the CRSP US Mid Cap Growth Index, as it invest all of its assets in the stocks that makes up the Index.
For further information, check out VUG vs VOT comparison details.
15. Compare and contrast: VUG vs VT.
Both VUG and VT are ETFs. VUG has a higher 5-year return than VT (23.68% vs 14.36%). VUG has a lower expense ratio than VT (0.04% vs 0.08%). Below is the comparison between VUG and VT.
| VUG | VT | |
|---|---|---|
| Segment | Equity: U.S. - Large Cap Growth | Equity: Global - Total Market |
| Net Assets | $86.16B | $24.43B |
| Expense Ratio | 0.04% | 0.08% |
| Management Style | passive (index-based) | passive (index-based) |
| Underlying Index | CRSP US Large Cap Growth Index | FTSE Global All Cap Net TR US RIC |
| YTD Return | 22.18% | 17.15% |
| 1-Year Return | 32.8% | 32.9% |
| 3-Year Return | 25.48% | 14.69% |
| 5-Year Return | 23.68% | 14.36% |
| 10-Year Return | 19.53% | 11.98% |
| Dividend Yield | 0.57% | 1.65% |
VT profile: The Fund seeks to track the performance of a benchmark index that measures the investment return of stocks of companies located in developed and emerging markets around the world. The Fund employs an indexing investment approach to track the performance of the FTSE Global All Cap Index and attempts to sample the index.
For further information, check out VUG vs VT comparison details.