IMCG vs QQQG

IMCGAiShares Morningstar Mid-Cap Growth ETF

QQQGCPacer Nasdaq-100 Top 50 Cash Cows Growth Leaders 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.

QQQG Pacer took its Cash Cows playbook up to the Nasdaq-100: screen the index for free-cash-flow strength and momentum, then keep about 50 names. A concentrated growth sleeve with a boutique price tag.

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.

QQQG The fund seeks to track the Pacer Nasdaq-100 Top 50 Cash Cows Growth Leaders Index before fees and expenses. Its rules-based approach screens Nasdaq-100 companies using projected cash-flow and earnings measures, free-cash-flow margin, and price momentum.

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.

• QQQG Rules-based, not a stock picker's wish list. The screen ranks Nasdaq-100 companies on projected cash flow and earnings, free-cash-flow margin, and price momentum.paceretfs.com
• Concentrated on purpose: about 50 holdings instead of the full Nasdaq-100, so the cash-flow leaders the index picks carry real weight in the portfolio.
• Profitability sits inside the screen, so the roster tilts toward Nasdaq-100 names that actually convert business into free cash flow, with quarterly distributions.

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.

• QQQG 0.49% a year is a premium for growth exposure. Broad rivals such as VUG (0.03%) and SCHG (0.04%) deliver plain large-cap growth for single-digit basis points.
• Small asset base and thin trading. Spreads can run wider than the household-name growth funds, which matters most on larger or hurried orders.
• Launched in 2024, so the screen has yet to be tested across a full market cycle. Judge it on the rules, not on a long record.

Full IMCG profile⁠

Full QQQG profile⁠