IWF vs VUG: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF

IWFBNYSE Arca

Vanguard Morningstar Growth ETF

VUGANYSE Arca

Overlap

77.9%by weight

Expense ratio

VUG −0.15pt a year

IWF0.18%VUG0.03%

Avg volume · 30D

VUG 1.4×the volume

IWF4.51MVUG6.32M

10Y return · a year

VUG +0.1pt

IWF+17.5%VUG+17.6%

IWF vs VUG Performance

Oct 29, 2021 – Oct 30, 2026

+62.2%IWF+67.0%VUG

Expense ratio: IWF 0.18%; VUG 0.03%, better
Fund size: IWF $120B; VUG $392B
1Y total return: IWF −2.8%; VUG +2.7%, better
Yield (12M): IWF 0.37%; VUG 0.41%, better
Holdings: IWF 375; VUG 136
Avg volume (30D): IWF 4.51M sh; VUG 6.32M sh, better
NAV per share: IWF $117.59; VUG $85.06
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for IWF, VUG, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	IWF	VUG
Cost30% weight	C49	A96Higher
Mission25% weight	A100Higher	A99
Risk15% weight	D29	C49Higher
Tradability15% weight	A96Higher	B65
Holdings10% weight	C43Higher	D29
Durability5% weight	A86	A91Higher

Rank among US Growth Index funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. IWF and VUG 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 ›

VUG ranks 5th and IWF 14th of 35 funds in the US Growth Index Category.

Rank 2ASCHGSchwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETFScore 78
Rank 5AVUGVanguard Morningstar Growth ETFScore 77
Rank 6AVBKVanguard Morningstar Small-Cap Growth ETFScore 72
Rank 12BVOOGVanguard S&P 500 Growth ETFScore 67
Rank 14BIWFiShares Russell 1000 Growth ETFScore 66
Rank 14BVTWGVanguard Russell 2000 Growth ETFScore 66

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

IWFBiShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF

VUGAVanguard Morningstar Growth ETF

In short

IWF Trading since 2000, IWF is the heavyweight way to own the Russell 1000 Growth Index: roughly 400 US large- and mid-cap growth names, in one of the biggest and busiest funds in its group. Cheaper clones of the same index exist.

VUG Three basis points buys roughly 170 US large-cap growth names. Running since 2004, over $100 billion in assets, and it tracks its index about as closely as an index fund can.

Stated mandate

IWF The Fund seeks to follow the Russell 1000 Growth Index, representing U.S. large- and mid-capitalization equities selected for growth characteristics. It generally invests at least 80% of assets in index components.

VUG The fund seeks to track a benchmark index measuring the investment return of large-capitalization growth stocks.

Why people hold it

IWF Running since 2000 and now among the largest and most actively traded growth ETFs, so getting in and out rarely means fighting a wide spread.
The mandate is plain: follow the Russell 1000 Growth Index, at least 80% in index components. Its index tracking measures among the tightest in its peer group.ishares.com
One ticker buys about 400 US large- and mid-cap stocks selected for growth characteristics, with cash paid out quarterly.

VUG 0.03% a year against a 0.18% median for its growth peer group. A rival tracking the same declared index charges 0.36%, twelve times more for the same shopping list.vanguard.com
One of the largest and most heavily traded funds in US large-cap growth, and among the tightest index implementations in that group. Deep volume tends to mean thin spreads.
Trading since January 2004, so the record spans full market cycles rather than a backtest. Distributions land quarterly.

Worth knowing

IWF The 0.18% fee sits mid-pack for growth ETFs, and VONG follows the identical Russell 1000 Growth Index for a fraction of it. Same index, different sticker.
A growth screen keeps only part of the Russell 1000, so the ride depends on whichever names the index currently counts as fast growers.

VUG Cap-weighted, so the biggest mega-caps dominate the top of the book. That makes it one of the more concentrated portfolios in this cohort.vanguard.com
A style sleeve, not the whole market: growth screens only, large caps only. When growth is out of favor it can swing harder than a total-market fund.
SPYG and SCHG sit at 0.04%, so the price edge is a rounding error. The real gap is how each index defines a growth stock.

Full IWF profile⁠

Full VUG profile⁠

IWF vs VUG Holdings

How IWF and VUG differ

Overlap by weight

77.9%

Shared holdings make up 94.4% of VUG and 84.7% of IWF.

Level by level

Holdings107 in both77.9%
Sector11 Sectors93.0%
Asset classEquity100%
Countryby domicile99.7%

Sector

Sector weights in IWF and VUG, widest gap first
Sector	More in IWFMore in VUG	IWF	VUG
Technology	VUG +4.5 points	55.7%	60.2%
Industrials	IWF +2.8 points	7.2%	4.4%
Consumer Discretionary	VUG +1.9 points	7.9%	9.8%
Health Care	IWF +1.8 points	6.0%	4.2%
Financials	IWF +1.0 points	4.9%	3.9%
Communication	IWF +0.8 points	15.5%	14.7%
Real Estate	VUG +0.5 points	0.4%	0.9%
Energy	IWF +0.3 points	0.6%	0.3%
Utilities	IWF +0.3 points	0.3%	0.0%
Materials	VUG +0.1 points	0.3%	0.4%
Consumer Staples	Same weight	1.3%	1.3%

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in IWF and VUG, widest gap first
Country	More in IWFMore in VUG	IWF	VUG
United States	VUG +0.3 points	99.7%	100.0%
Brazil	IWF +0.2 points	0.2%	0.0%
Canada	IWF +0.1 points	0.1%	0.0%
United Kingdom	Same weight	0.0%	0.0%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

IWF56.9%
VUG63.1%

Securities held

IWF373
VUG135

Asset class

IWF: Equity
VUG: Equity

Holdings

Only in IWF266
In both107
Only in VUG28

Only in IWF

266 securities, 15.2% of IWF by weight

Micron Technology3.20%
Caterpillar Inc0.89%
Home Depot0.74%
Amgen Inc0.53%
Lockheed Martin0.40%
Mckesson Corp0.33%
Trane Technologies PLC0.29%
Spotify Technology0.27%
Simon Property Group Reit Inc0.21%
Adobe Inc0.21%
Marathon Petroleum0.20%
Ross Stores Inc0.19%
Cencora0.19%
Natera0.18%
American Tower Reit0.17%
American Express0.15%
Vistra0.14%
Walmart0.14%
Microchip Technology Inc0.13%
Automatic Data Processing Inc0.13%
Nu Holdings Class A0.13%
Rockwell Automation Inc0.13%
Coca-Cola0.13%
AbbVie0.12%
Anglogold Ashanti PLC0.12%
Everpure Inc Class A0.11%
Revolution Medicines0.11%
Citigroup0.10%
Cummins Inc0.10%
Expedia Group0.10%
Keysight Technologies0.10%
Colgate-Palmolive0.10%
Emcor Group0.09%
Jabil0.09%
Intuit0.08%
Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd0.08%
Cardinal Health0.08%
Zoetis Inc Class A0.08%
Darden Restaurants Inc0.08%
Tapestry0.07%
Ati0.07%
Eaton PLC0.07%
Illinois Tool Inc0.07%
Waste Management Inc0.07%
Bank of America0.07%
Caseys General Stores Inc0.07%
Pepsico0.07%
Affirm Holdings Class A0.06%
Guardant Health0.06%
Xpo0.06%

Only in VUG

28 securities, 5.6% of VUG by weight

Intel Corp1.45%
Seagate Technology Holdings PLC0.58%
Welltower Inc0.46%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc0.37%
Equinix Inc0.29%
Synopsys Inc0.25%
McDonald's Corp0.24%
Ecolab Inc0.21%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc0.21%
Veeva Systems Inc0.14%
Coinbase Global Inc0.13%
Block Inc0.13%
Waste Connections Inc0.13%
Mettler-Toledo International Inc0.11%
Vulcan Materials Co0.11%
West Pharmaceutical Services Inc0.10%
VeriSign Inc0.09%
Waters Corp0.08%
Ventas Inc0.08%
Verisk Analytics Inc0.08%
Flex Ltd0.08%
ResMed Inc0.07%
Martin Marietta Materials Inc0.06%
SBA Communications Corp0.04%
SLBBH11420.04%
Cerebras Systems Inc0.04%
Symbotic Inc0.03%
Venture Global Inc0.03%

Weight gaps

The 100 widest of 107 Holdings in both funds.

Holding weights in IWF and VUG, widest gap first
Holding	More in IWFMore in VUG	IWF	VUG
AppleAAPL	VUG +4.21 points	8.30%	12.51%
MicrosoftMSFT	VUG +3.77 points	5.98%	9.75%
Amazon.com IncAMZN	VUG +3.66 points	0.60%	4.26%
NVIDIANVDA	IWF +1.65 points	15.14%	13.49%
Tesla IncTSLA	IWF +0.93 points	3.58%	2.65%
Meta Platforms Class AMETA	VUG +0.82 points	3.41%	4.23%
Eli LillyLLY	IWF +0.73 points	3.33%	2.60%
Broadcom IncAVGO	IWF +0.54 points	4.88%	4.34%
Ge AerospaceGE	IWF +0.53 points	0.98%	0.45%
Visa Class AV	IWF +0.52 points	2.11%	1.59%
Costco Wholesale CorpCOST	VUG +0.50 points	0.59%	1.09%
Texas InstrumentTXN	IWF +0.50 points	0.86%	0.36%
Mastercard Class AMA	IWF +0.40 points	1.56%	1.16%
Palantir Technologies Class APLTR	IWF +0.23 points	1.33%	1.10%
TjxTJX	VUG +0.19 points	0.22%	0.41%
Dell Technologies Inc Class CDELL	VUG +0.18 points	0.05%	0.23%
BoeingBA	VUG +0.15 points	0.26%	0.41%
CoherentCOHR	VUG +0.14 points	0.03%	0.17%
Lam ResearchLRCX	VUG +0.14 points	0.97%	1.11%
Advanced Micro DevicesAMD	IWF +0.14 points	2.80%	2.66%
Alphabet Class AGOOGL	VUG +0.14 points	5.02%	5.16%
Motorola Solutions IncMSI	VUG +0.13 points	0.09%	0.22%
AutozoneAZO	VUG +0.13 points	0.02%	0.15%
Workday Class AWDAY	VUG +0.11 points	<0.01%	0.12%
MsciMSCI	VUG +0.11 points	<0.01%	0.12%
SandiskSNDK	VUG +0.11 points	0.59%	0.70%
Starbucks CorpSBUX	VUG +0.10 points	0.20%	0.30%
Moodys CorpMCO	VUG +0.10 points	0.10%	0.20%
Old Dominion Freight LineODFL	VUG +0.09 points	0.02%	0.11%
Crowdstrike Holdings Class ACRWD	IWF +0.09 points	0.80%	0.71%
Monster BeverageMNST	VUG +0.08 points	0.09%	0.17%
BlackstoneBX	IWF +0.09 points	0.22%	0.13%
Yum BrandsYUM	VUG +0.08 points	0.04%	0.12%
Super Micro Computer IncSMCI	VUG +0.08 points	<0.01%	0.09%
Transdigm GroupTDG	VUG +0.08 points	0.10%	0.18%
Robinhood Markets Class AHOOD	VUG +0.08 points	0.18%	0.26%
Applied Material IncAMAT	VUG +0.08 points	1.02%	1.10%
OracleORCL	IWF +0.08 points	0.73%	0.65%
Intuitive SurgicalISRG	IWF +0.07 points	0.48%	0.41%
FortinetFTNT	VUG +0.06 points	0.26%	0.32%
Lpl Financial HoldingsLPLA	VUG +0.07 points	0.02%	0.09%
Marvell TechnologyMRVL	VUG +0.06 points	0.58%	0.64%
Applovin Class AAPP	VUG +0.05 points	0.19%	0.24%
Coreweave Class ACRWV	VUG +0.05 points	0.06%	0.11%
TeradyneTER	VUG +0.05 points	0.14%	0.19%
Tradeweb Markets Inc Class ATW	VUG +0.05 points	<0.01%	0.05%
Palo Alto NetworksPANW	IWF +0.05 points	0.93%	0.88%
ServicenowNOW	VUG +0.05 points	0.34%	0.39%
Bloom Energy Class ABE	VUG +0.04 points	0.19%	0.23%
First SolarFSLR	VUG +0.05 points	<0.01%	0.05%
Lumentum HoldingsLITE	VUG +0.04 points	0.22%	0.26%
Astera LabsALAB	VUG +0.04 points	0.14%	0.18%
Alnylam PharmaceuticalsALNY	VUG +0.04 points	0.07%	0.11%
Comfort Systems UsaFIX	VUG +0.04 points	0.14%	0.18%
Amphenol Corp Class AAPH	IWF +0.04 points	0.61%	0.57%
Rocket Lab CorpRKLB	VUG +0.04 points	0.10%	0.14%
Ge VernovaGEV	IWF +0.04 points	0.73%	0.69%
KlaKLAC	VUG +0.03 points	0.67%	0.70%
CorningGLW	VUG +0.03 points	0.31%	0.34%
Interactive Brokers Group Inc ClasIBKR	VUG +0.03 points	0.04%	0.07%
CintasCTAS	IWF +0.03 points	0.23%	0.20%
Tko Group Holdings Inc Class ATKO	VUG +0.03 points	0.01%	0.04%
Cloudflare Class ANET	VUG +0.03 points	0.30%	0.33%
FastenalFAST	VUG +0.03 points	0.15%	0.18%
Marriott International Class AMAR	VUG +0.02 points	0.20%	0.22%
Hilton Worldwide HoldingsHLT	IWF +0.03 points	0.24%	0.21%
Western Digital CorpWDC	VUG +0.03 points	0.41%	0.44%
Targa ResourcesTRGP	IWF +0.02 points	0.20%	0.18%
Reddit Class ARDDT	VUG +0.03 points	0.05%	0.08%
Monolithic Power Systems IncMPWR	VUG +0.02 points	0.17%	0.19%
Vertiv Holdings Class AVRT	IWF +0.02 points	0.29%	0.27%
Dexcom IncDXCM	VUG +0.02 points	0.09%	0.11%
Royal Caribbean GroupRCL	IWF +0.01 points	0.13%	0.12%
Take Two Interactive SoftwareTTWO	VUG +0.02 points	0.11%	0.13%
Cadence Design SystemsCDNS	IWF +0.02 points	0.29%	0.27%
Space Exploration Technologies CorSPCX	VUG +0.02 points	0.24%	0.26%
Las Vegas SandsLVS	VUG +0.02 points	0.03%	0.05%
Idexx LaboratoriesIDXX	VUG +0.01 points	0.12%	0.13%
InsmedINSM	IWF +0.01 points	0.07%	0.06%
Arista NetworksANET	VUG +0.02 points	0.58%	0.60%
SnowflakeSNOW	IWF +0.02 points	0.34%	0.32%
Ww Grainger IncGWW	VUG +0.01 points	0.16%	0.17%
Ast Spacemobile Class AASTS	VUG +0.02 points	0.03%	0.05%
AutodeskADSK	IWF +0.02 points	0.16%	0.14%
Alphabet Class CGOOG	VUG +0.01 points	4.08%	4.09%
Live Nation EntertainmentLYV	VUG +0.01 points	0.09%	0.10%
Mongodb Class AMDB	VUG +0.01 points	0.08%	0.09%
Fair IsaacFICO	VUG +0.01 points	0.04%	0.05%
Howmet AerospaceHWM	VUG +0.01 points	0.25%	0.26%
Ares Management Class AARES	VUG +0.01 points	0.08%	0.09%
Booking HoldingsBKNG	IWF +0.01 points	0.35%	0.34%
CienaCIEN	VUG +0.01 points	0.15%	0.16%
Carvana Class ACVNA	IWF +0.01 points	0.14%	0.13%
Airbnb Class AABNB	IWF +0.01 points	0.21%	0.20%
Datadog Inc Class ADDOG	Same weight	0.27%	0.27%
Chipotle Mexican GrillCMG	VUG +0.01 points	0.12%	0.13%
Quanta Services IncPWR	IWF +0.01 points	0.29%	0.28%
Texas Pacific LandTPL	IWF +0.01 points	0.06%	0.05%
ZscalerZS	VUG +0.01 points	0.08%	0.09%
Doordash Class ADASH	VUG +0.01 points	0.20%	0.21%

All 373 IWF holdings⁠All 166 VUG 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.

IWF vs VUG Cost

Overpaying IWF vs VUG

$3,111

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

IWF 0.18%
$3,749
VUG 0.03%
$638

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

IWF 0.18%
VUG 0.03%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	IWF	VUG	Overpaying
10	$328	$55	$273
20	$1,281	$216	$1,065
30	$3,749	$638	$3,111

Expense ratio

0.18%IWF
0.03%VUG, cheaper

VUG0.03%IWF0.18%

0.03%0.70%

Middle half of US Growth Index funds
Median 0.18%

VUG cheapest of 35 funds

IWF 17th cheapest of 35 funds

IWF vs VUG Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): IWF 0.37%; VUG 0.41%, better
Payout (12M): IWF $0.43; VUG $0.35
Last payment: IWF $0.11; VUG $0.09
Ex-dividend: IWF Sep 15, 2026; VUG Sep 28, 2026
Paid on: IWF Sep 18, 2026; VUG Sep 30, 2026
Frequency: IWF Quarterly; VUG Quarterly

Distribution history

Per share, 2017 to 2026, same scale for both

IWFQuarterly · 39 paymentsAll IWF payments⁠

VUGQuarterly · 39 paymentsAll VUG payments⁠

IWF vs VUG Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: IWF 16.8%, betterVUG 17.3%
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: IWF 1.01VUG 1.11, better
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: IWF −32.7%, betterVUG −35.6%
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: IWF 1.17VUG 1.23; Market = 1

IWF and VUG in the news

All news⁠

Best ETFs
The best growth ETF is the cheap one on the index you want
Updated Nov 2, 2026IWFVUG
Best ETFs
The cheap large-cap growth pick is the S&P 500 list
Updated Oct 2, 2026IWFVUG
Head-to-Head
SPYM leads IWF by 9.4 percentage points in 2026. They are not the same bet
Oct 21, 2026IWF
New ETFs
Avantis Investors' Avantis U.S. Core Equity ETF AVUC overlaps a fund it already runs
Oct 16, 2026IWF
Head-to-Head
Own iShares Core S&P 500 ETF, IVV, unless you want the heavier growth bet in Vanguard Morningstar Growth ETF, VUG
Oct 16, 2026VUG
First-Year Review
Polen Focus Growth ETF lags the Russell 1000 Growth in its first year
Sep 30, 2026IWF

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IWF vs VUG

In short

Stated mandate

Why people hold it