IMCG vs VBK: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

iShares Morningstar Mid-Cap Growth ETF

IMCGANYSE Arca

Vanguard Morningstar Small-Cap Growth ETF

VBKANYSE Arca

Overlap

13.5%by weight

Expense ratio

VBK −0.01pt a year

IMCG0.06%VBK0.05%

Avg volume · 30D

VBK 1.5×the volume

IMCG132KVBK203K

10Y return · a year

IMCG +3.4pt

IMCG+14.3%VBK+10.9%

IMCG vs VBK Performance

Oct 29, 2021 – Oct 30, 2026

+30.8%IMCG+15.0%VBK

Expense ratio: IMCG 0.06%; VBK 0.05%, better
Fund size: IMCG $4.04B; VBK $43B
1Y total return: IMCG +14.0%, better; VBK +9.2%
Yield (12M): IMCG 0.67%, better; VBK 0.42%
Holdings: IMCG 262; VBK 556
Avg volume (30D): IMCG 132K sh; VBK 203K sh, better
NAV per share: IMCG $93.24; VBK $330.29
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for IMCG, VBK, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	IMCG	VBK
Cost30% weight	A78	A78
Mission25% weight	A95	A96Higher
Risk15% weight	A78Higher	C41
Tradability15% weight	B61Higher	C43
Holdings10% weight	A75	A80Higher
Durability5% weight	B66	A83Higher

Rank among US Growth Index funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. IMCG and VBK are both graded against the same 35 US Growth Index funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

US Growth Index⁠

Category · 35 funds

See all 35 ›

IMCG ranks 2nd and VBK 6th of 35 funds in the US Growth Index Category.

Rank 1ASPYGState Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Growth ETFScore 84
Rank 2AILCGiShares Morningstar Growth ETFScore 78
Rank 2AIMCGiShares Morningstar Mid-Cap Growth ETFScore 78
Rank 2ASCHGSchwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETFScore 78
Rank 5AVUGVanguard Morningstar Growth ETFScore 77
Rank 6AVBKVanguard Morningstar Small-Cap Growth ETFScore 72
Rank 7AVOTVanguard Morningstar Mid-Cap Growth ETFScore 71

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

IMCGAiShares Morningstar Mid-Cap Growth ETF

VBKAVanguard Morningstar Small-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.

VBK The small-cap outlier in a growth aisle dominated by mega-cap names. About 600 smaller U.S. growth companies, tracked by full replication for 0.05% a year, run by Vanguard since 2004.

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.

VBK Seeks to track the CRSP US Small Cap Growth Index, representing growth companies among small-capitalization U.S. equities. The fund uses passive full replication and remains fully invested.

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.

VBK Costs 0.05% a year against a 0.18% median across its growth peer group, and sits in the same fee neighborhood as large-cap giants like VUG and SCHG while indexing a much thinner slice of the market.
Plain mechanics: full replication of the CRSP US Small Cap Growth Index, fully invested, no manager discretion. Roughly 600 holdings spread out the single-name risk that comes with small companies.vanguard.com
Live since 2004 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund, with a long record of hugging its index closely. Distributions land quarterly.
One of the stronger implementations in its growth cohort: the cheap, wide, rules-driven way to own the small end of the style box rather than a stock-picker's version of it.

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.

VBK Small-cap growth is the market's jumpiest corner, and the fund stays fully invested through every drawdown. There is no cash buffer or defensive tilt to soften the ride.
This is a style slice, not a portfolio: U.S. only, small caps only, growth side of the index only. What qualifies is decided by CRSP's rules, not by a manager's judgment.
Trades in solid but not headline volume, so spreads can run wider than the mega-cap growth ETFs it shares a shelf with.

Full IMCG profile⁠

Full VBK profile⁠

IMCG vs VBK Holdings

How IMCG and VBK differ

Overlap by weight

13.5%

Shared holdings make up 30.9% of VBK and 13.8% of IMCG.

Level by level

Holdings60 in both13.5%
Sector11 Sectors81.3%
Countryby domicile98.2%
Asset classEquity100%

Sector

Sector weights in IMCG and VBK, widest gap first
Sector	More in IMCGMore in VBK	IMCG	VBK
Health Care	VBK +11.7 points	8.9%	20.6%
Financials	IMCG +6.8 points	12.5%	5.7%
Technology	VBK +4.9 points	23.3%	28.2%
Industrials	IMCG +3.8 points	23.0%	19.2%
Consumer Discretionary	IMCG +3.1 points	10.6%	7.5%
Utilities	IMCG +2.1 points	3.1%	1.0%
Materials	IMCG +1.8 points	6.4%	4.6%
Communication	VBK +1.4 points	2.2%	3.6%
Consumer Staples	IMCG +0.9 points	2.9%	2.0%
Energy	VBK +0.5 points	3.5%	4.0%
Real Estate	VBK +0.2 points	3.6%	3.8%

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in IMCG and VBK, widest gap first
Country	More in IMCGMore in VBK	IMCG	VBK
United States	VBK +1.8 points	98.2%	100.0%
China	IMCG +0.6 points	0.6%	0.0%
Other countries (3)	IMCG +1.3 points	1.3%	0.0%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

IMCG12.4%
VBK12.2%

Securities held

IMCG259
VBK551

Asset class

IMCG: Equity
VBK: Equity

Holdings

Only in IMCG199
In both60
Only in VBK491

Only in IMCG

199 securities, 86.1% of IMCG by weight

Snowflake1.52%
Cloudflare Class A1.35%
Johnson Controls International PLC1.30%
Dell Technologies Inc Class C1.30%
Freeport Mcmoran Inc1.29%
Datadog Inc Class A1.20%
Fortinet1.18%
Motorola Solutions Inc1.11%
Lumentum Holdings1.10%
Hilton Worldwide Holdings1.07%
Royal Caribbean Group1.05%
Ecolab1.03%
Cintas1.02%
Moodys Corp1.00%
Oreilly Automotive Inc0.97%
Cummins Inc0.97%
Robinhood Markets Class A0.97%
Aon PLC Class A0.92%
Doordash Class A0.92%
Airbnb Class A0.91%
Csx0.89%
Transdigm Group0.88%
Bloom Energy Class A0.87%
Monster Beverage0.86%
Cencora0.85%
Bank of New York Mellon Corp0.85%
Ww Grainger Inc0.82%
Marathon Petroleum0.80%
Fastenal0.79%
Ametek Inc0.79%
Emerson Electric0.79%
Monolithic Power Systems Inc0.76%
Keysight Technologies0.76%
Baker Hughes Class A0.73%
Ross Stores Inc0.72%
Edwards Lifesciences0.71%
Autodesk0.70%
Autozone0.70%
United Rentals0.69%
Rockwell Automation Inc0.68%
Ciena0.67%
Carvana Class A0.66%
Sherwin Williams0.66%
Westinghouse Air Brake Technologie0.65%
Vistra0.64%
Veeva Systems Class A0.63%
Teradyne0.63%
Nasdaq Inc0.63%
Astera Labs0.61%
Comfort Systems Usa0.61%

Only in VBK

491 securities, 69.0% of VBK by weight

SLCMT11422.09%
Okta Inc1.00%
Guardant Health Inc0.65%
Roku Inc0.57%
Nutanix Inc0.52%
Nordson Corp0.50%
FTAI Aviation Ltd0.49%
Dynatrace Inc0.48%
SiTime Corp0.48%
Semtech Corp0.47%
Coeur Mining Inc0.46%
Unity Software Inc0.46%
SharkNinja Inc0.43%
Onto Innovation Inc0.43%
RB Global Inc0.43%
Lincoln Electric Holdings Inc0.41%
Neurocrine Biosciences Inc0.41%
Sterling Infrastructure Inc0.41%
Medpace Holdings Inc0.40%
Exelixis Inc0.39%
Twist Bioscience Corp0.37%
Docusign Inc0.37%
Samsara Inc0.36%
DigitalOcean Holdings Inc0.36%
Halozyme Therapeutics Inc0.36%
Graco Inc0.35%
Generac Holdings Inc0.35%
Five Below Inc0.35%
QXO Inc0.35%
GoDaddy Inc0.34%
Penumbra Inc0.34%
Guidewire Software Inc0.34%
American Healthcare REIT Inc0.34%
FormFactor Inc0.33%
BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc0.33%
Manhattan Associates Inc0.33%
Rambus Inc0.33%
Bridgebio Pharma Inc0.33%
Hecla Mining Co0.33%
Bio-Techne Corp0.32%
Equity LifeStyle Properties Inc0.32%
Wayfair Inc0.32%
Corcept Therapeutics Inc0.32%
10X Genomics Inc0.31%
JFrog Ltd0.31%
UDR Inc0.31%
Littelfuse Inc0.31%
Advanced Energy Industries Inc0.31%
Coca-Cola Consolidated Inc0.31%
Deckers Outdoor Corp0.30%

Weight gaps

All 60 Holdings in both funds, largest gap first.

Holding weights in IMCG and VBK, widest gap first
Holding	More in IMCGMore in VBK	IMCG	VBK
Revolution MedicinesRVMD	VBK +0.96 points	0.23%	1.19%
Twilio Class ATWLO	VBK +0.81 points	0.47%	1.28%
NateraNTRA	VBK +0.81 points	0.81%	1.62%
Illumina IncILMN	VBK +0.79 points	0.39%	1.18%
Everpure Inc Class AP	VBK +0.59 points	0.59%	1.18%
Credo Technology Group Holding LtdCRDO	VBK +0.56 points	0.38%	0.94%
Emcor GroupEME	VBK +0.55 points	0.40%	0.95%
Technipfmc PLCFTI	VBK +0.53 points	0.23%	0.76%
Incyte CorpINCY	VBK +0.49 points	0.11%	0.60%
Nvent Electric PLCNVT	VBK +0.44 points	0.30%	0.74%
Roivant Sciences LtdROIV	VBK +0.43 points	0.10%	0.53%
AtiATI	VBK +0.42 points	0.32%	0.74%
Liberty Media Series CFWONK	VBK +0.38 points	0.18%	0.56%
Rivian Automotive Class ARIVN	VBK +0.38 points	0.08%	0.46%
Macom Technology SolutionsMTSI	VBK +0.35 points	0.24%	0.59%
Entegris IncENTG	VBK +0.34 points	0.33%	0.67%
Curtiss WrightCW	VBK +0.32 points	0.25%	0.57%
Carpenter TechnologyCRS	VBK +0.32 points	0.20%	0.52%
Talen EnergyTLN	VBK +0.32 points	0.11%	0.43%
Lattice SemiconductorLSCC	VBK +0.32 points	0.19%	0.51%
MksMKSI	VBK +0.31 points	0.20%	0.51%
Sun Communities Reit IncSUI	VBK +0.31 points	0.08%	0.39%
Caseys General Stores IncCASY	VBK +0.30 points	0.34%	0.64%
WoodwardWWD	VBK +0.30 points	0.25%	0.55%
Royal GoldRGLD	VBK +0.30 points	0.27%	0.57%
Weyerhaeuser ReitWY	VBK +0.28 points	0.11%	0.39%
Sofi TechnologiesSOFI	VBK +0.28 points	0.30%	0.58%
Burlington StoresBURL	VBK +0.27 points	0.21%	0.48%
Itt IncITT	VBK +0.27 points	0.25%	0.52%
FabrinetFN	VBK +0.27 points	0.16%	0.43%
XpoXPO	VBK +0.27 points	0.29%	0.56%
IonqIONQ	VBK +0.26 points	0.17%	0.43%
PtcPTC	VBK +0.24 points	0.19%	0.43%
Ttm Technologies IncTTMI	VBK +0.25 points	0.12%	0.37%
Mastec IncMTZ	VBK +0.24 points	0.15%	0.39%
Rbc BearingsRBC	VBK +0.24 points	0.21%	0.45%
Affirm Holdings Class AAFRM	VBK +0.24 points	0.29%	0.53%
Nextpower IncNXT	VBK +0.23 points	0.09%	0.32%
Clean Harbors IncCLH	VBK +0.21 points	0.21%	0.42%
Somnigroup InternationalSGI	VBK +0.21 points	0.18%	0.39%
Bwx Technologies IncBWXT	VBK +0.19 points	0.17%	0.36%
Toast Class ATOST	VBK +0.18 points	0.22%	0.40%
Costar GroupCSGP	VBK +0.17 points	0.15%	0.32%
Lennox InternationalLII	VBK +0.17 points	0.15%	0.32%
Circle Internet Group Inc Class ACRCL	VBK +0.16 points	0.20%	0.36%
Qnity ElectronicsQ	IMCG +0.16 points	0.35%	0.19%
Tyler TechnologiesTYL	VBK +0.16 points	0.21%	0.37%
United TherapeuticsUTHR	VBK +0.15 points	0.18%	0.33%
Flex LtdFLEX	VBK +0.14 points	0.44%	0.58%
Hubbell IncHUBB	IMCG +0.13 points	0.30%	0.17%
Southwest AirlinesLUV	VBK +0.13 points	0.16%	0.29%
First SolarFSLR	VBK +0.13 points	0.13%	0.26%
Albemarle CorpALB	VBK +0.10 points	0.08%	0.18%
Ast Spacemobile Class AASTS	VBK +0.08 points	0.16%	0.24%
WatscoWSO	VBK +0.07 points	0.08%	0.15%
Tko Group Holdings Inc Class ATKO	VBK +0.05 points	0.10%	0.15%
Texas Pacific LandTPL	VBK +0.04 points	0.26%	0.30%
Liberty Media Series AFWONA	VBK +0.04 points	0.02%	0.06%
InsmedINSM	VBK +0.04 points	0.32%	0.36%
Rollins IncROL	IMCG +0.02 points	0.15%	0.13%

All 259 IMCG holdings⁠All 579 VBK holdings⁠

How we measure overlap

Each holding counts at its smaller weight in the two funds, summed over the full Holdings. Sector, country and asset class use the same rule on each fund’s split. Cash, FX and derivative lines stay out of the counts. Two bond funds get no overlap figure.

IMCG vs VBK Cost

Overpaying IMCG vs VBK

$210

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

IMCG 0.06%
$1,270
VBK 0.05%
$1,060

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

IMCG 0.06%
VBK 0.05%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	IMCG	VBK	Overpaying
10	$110	$92	$18
20	$432	$360	$72
30	$1,270	$1,060	$210

Expense ratio

0.06%IMCG
0.05%VBK, cheaper

VBK0.05%IMCG0.06%

0.03%0.70%

Middle half of US Growth Index funds
Median 0.18%

VBK 5th cheapest of 35 funds

IMCG 9th cheapest of 35 funds

IMCG vs VBK Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): IMCG 0.67%, better; VBK 0.42%
Payout (12M): IMCG $0.62; VBK $1.40
Last payment: IMCG $0.19; VBK $0.30
Ex-dividend: IMCG Sep 15, 2026; VBK Sep 28, 2026
Paid on: IMCG Sep 18, 2026; VBK Sep 30, 2026
Frequency: IMCG Quarterly; VBK Quarterly

Distribution history

Per share, 2017 to 2026, same scale for both

IMCGQuarterly · 39 paymentsAll IMCG payments⁠

VBKQuarterly · 38 paymentsAll VBK payments⁠

IMCG vs VBK Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

IMCG
VBK

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: IMCG 16.6%, betterVBK 18.6%
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: IMCG 0.97, betterVBK 0.79
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: IMCG −35.1%, betterVBK −38.4%
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: IMCG 1.14VBK 1.19; Market = 1

IMCG and VBK in the news

All news⁠

Best ETFs
Best small-cap ETFs: Vanguard’s VB beats three great funds all charging just 0.03%
Updated Nov 2, 2026VBK
Best ETFs
The best growth ETF is the cheap one on the index you want
Updated Nov 2, 2026IMCG
Best ETFs
The cheap large-cap growth pick is the S&P 500 list
Updated Oct 2, 2026IMCG

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IMCG vs VBK

In short

Stated mandate

Why people hold it