IMCG vs MGK

IMCGAiShares Morningstar Mid-Cap Growth ETF

MGKBVanguard Morningstar Mega Cap Growth ETF

In short

IMCG Growth investing usually means megacaps. IMCG works the middle of the market instead: roughly 300 mid-cap growth names, indexed since 2004, for six basis points a year.

MGK The growth half of America's giants, roughly 70 names, for five basis points. Vanguard has run it since 2007, and it charges a quarter of what the typical mega-cap fund does.

Stated mandate

IMCG The Fund seeks to track an index of U.S. mid-capitalization equities with growth characteristics. Its strategy uses representative sampling and generally invests at least 80% of assets in securities from the Underlying Index.

MGK Seeks to track a benchmark measuring the return of large-capitalization growth stocks in the United States. The fund uses passive indexing to track the CRSP US Mega Cap Growth Index.

Why people hold it

• IMCG 0.06% a year, one third of the 0.18% median for its growth-fund peer group. Mid-cap indexing at large-cap-index prices.
• The growth leaderboard is stacked with large-cap funds (VUG, SCHG, SPYG, VONG). IMCG covers the middle instead, holding about 300 mid-cap growth names.
• Sticks close to the Morningstar mid-cap growth index it follows, one of the tighter tracking jobs in its peer group.
• Running since 2004 under the iShares roof, with a multi-billion-dollar asset base behind it.

• MGK 0.05% a year against a 0.20% median in its mega-cap peer group. Only Vanguard's own MGC matches that price.
• Tracks the CRSP US Mega Cap Growth Index about as tightly as index funds get, one of the strongest implementations in its cohort.
• The index takes the growth side of the top 70% of US market cap and moves names between size bands gradually, which keeps turnover down.crsp.orgcrsp.org 2
• Listed in December 2007 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, which usually shows up as tight spreads.

Worth knowing

• IMCG Moderately traded rather than heavily traded, so bid-ask spreads can run wider than the megacap growth ETFs sitting beside it in the category.
• This is a size-and-style bet. Mid-cap growth companies tend to move more sharply than the broad market, in both directions.
• Distributions land quarterly, but a growth screen is not built around income.

• MGK About 70 stocks, weighted by float-adjusted market cap. The handful at the top set the tone for the whole fund.crsp.org
• Growth only. Value-leaning mega caps sit outside the index; sibling MGC holds the full mega-cap slice at the same 0.05%.
• Distributions land quarterly, but a mega-cap growth mandate means income is a byproduct, not the job.

Full IMCG profile⁠

Full MGK profile⁠