MGK vs VUG: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

Vanguard Morningstar Mega Cap Growth ETF

MGKBNYSE Arca

Vanguard Morningstar Growth ETF

VUGANYSE Arca

Overlap

87.2%by weight

Expense ratio

VUG −0.02pt a year

MGK0.05%VUG0.03%

Avg volume · 30D

VUG 4.8×the volume

MGK1.32MVUG6.32M

10Y return · a year

MGK +0.9pt

MGK+18.5%VUG+17.6%

MGK vs VUG Performance

Oct 29, 2021 – Oct 30, 2026

+75.1%MGK+67.0%VUG

Expense ratio: MGK 0.05%; VUG 0.03%, better
Fund size: MGK $35B; VUG $392B
1Y total return: MGK +3.6%, better; VUG +2.7%
Yield (12M): MGK 0.35%; VUG 0.41%, better
Holdings: MGK 55; VUG 136
Avg volume (30D): MGK 1.32M sh; VUG 6.32M sh, better
NAV per share: MGK $86.83; VUG $85.06
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for MGK, VUG, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	MGK	VUG
Cost30% weight	A78	A96Higher
Mission25% weight	A99	A99
Risk15% weight	C40	C49Higher
Tradability15% weight	B56	B65Higher
Holdings10% weight	D25	D29Higher
Durability5% weight	A79	A91Higher

Rank among US Growth Index funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. MGK 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 MGK 10th 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 10BISCGiShares Morningstar Small-Cap Growth ETFScore 68
Rank 10BMGKVanguard Morningstar Mega Cap Growth ETFScore 68
Rank 12BIVWiShares S&P 500 Growth ETFScore 67

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

MGKBVanguard Morningstar Mega Cap Growth ETF

VUGAVanguard Morningstar Growth ETF

In short

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.

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

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.

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

Why people hold 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.org crsp.org 2
Listed in December 2007 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, which usually shows up as tight spreads.

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

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.

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 MGK profile⁠

Full VUG profile⁠

MGK vs VUG Holdings

How MGK and VUG differ

Overlap by weight

87.2%

Shared holdings make up 100% of MGK and 87.8% of VUG.

Level by level

Holdings53 in both87.2%
Sector10 Sectors96.7%
Asset classEquity100%
Countryby domicile100%

Sector

Sector weights in MGK and VUG, widest gap first
Sector	More in MGKMore in VUG	MGK	VUG
Technology	MGK +2.3 points	62.5%	60.2%
Industrials	VUG +2.0 points	2.4%	4.4%
Consumer Staples	VUG +0.9 points	0.4%	1.3%
Real Estate	MGK +0.3 points	1.2%	0.9%
Energy	VUG +0.3 points	0.0%	0.3%
Health Care	MGK +0.2 points	4.4%	4.2%
Communication	MGK +0.3 points	15.0%	14.7%
Financials	MGK +0.2 points	4.1%	3.9%
Consumer Discretionary	VUG +0.2 points	9.6%	9.8%
Materials	Same weight	0.4%	0.4%

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in MGK and VUG, widest gap first
Country	More in MGKMore in VUG	MGK	VUG
United States	Same weight	100.0%	100.0%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

MGK64.6%
VUG63.1%

Securities held

MGK53
VUG135

Asset class

MGK: Equity
VUG: Equity

Holdings

Only in MGK0
In both53
Only in VUG82

Only in MGK

0 securities, 0.0% of MGK by weight

Only in VUG

82 securities, 12.2% of VUG by weight

Costco Wholesale Corp1.09%
General Electric Co0.45%
Texas Instruments Inc0.36%
Cloudflare Inc0.33%
Starbucks Corp0.30%
Quanta Services Inc0.28%
Datadog Inc0.27%
Vertiv Holdings Co0.27%
Howmet Aerospace Inc0.26%
Robinhood Markets Inc0.26%
Lumentum Holdings Inc0.26%
McDonald's Corp0.24%
Dell Technologies Inc0.23%
Bloom Energy Corp0.23%
Motorola Solutions Inc0.22%
Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc0.21%
DoorDash Inc0.21%
Monolithic Power Systems Inc0.19%
Teradyne Inc0.19%
TransDigm Group Inc0.18%
Comfort Systems USA Inc0.18%
Targa Resources Corp0.18%
Astera Labs Inc0.18%
Fastenal Co0.18%
Coherent Corp0.17%
WW Grainger Inc0.17%
Ciena Corp0.16%
AutoZone Inc0.15%
Autodesk Inc0.14%
Rocket Lab Corp0.14%
Veeva Systems Inc0.14%
Carvana Co0.13%
IDEXX Laboratories Inc0.13%
Blackstone Inc0.13%
Coinbase Global Inc0.13%
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc0.13%
Block Inc0.13%
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc0.13%
Waste Connections Inc0.13%
Workday Inc0.12%
Yum! Brands Inc0.12%
MSCI Inc0.12%
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd0.12%
CoreWeave Inc0.11%
Dexcom Inc0.11%
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc0.11%
Old Dominion Freight Line Inc0.11%
Mettler-Toledo International Inc0.11%
Vulcan Materials Co0.11%
Axon Enterprise Inc0.11%

Weight gaps

All 53 Holdings in both funds, largest gap first.

Holding weights in MGK and VUG, widest gap first
Holding	More in MGKMore in VUG	MGK	VUG
Meta Platforms IncMETA	MGK +0.74 points	4.97%	4.23%
Advanced Micro Devices IncAMD	MGK +0.57 points	3.23%	2.66%
Eli Lilly & CoLLY	MGK +0.51 points	3.11%	2.60%
Tesla IncTSLA	MGK +0.50 points	3.15%	2.65%
Intel CorpINTC	MGK +0.42 points	1.87%	1.45%
Applied Materials IncAMAT	MGK +0.35 points	1.45%	1.10%
Palantir Technologies IncPLTR	MGK +0.35 points	1.45%	1.10%
Lam Research CorpLRCX	MGK +0.34 points	1.45%	1.11%
Palo Alto Networks IncPANW	MGK +0.35 points	1.23%	0.88%
Crowdstrike Holdings IncCRWD	MGK +0.33 points	1.04%	0.71%
Mastercard IncMA	MGK +0.33 points	1.49%	1.16%
Marvell Technology IncMRVL	MGK +0.31 points	0.95%	0.64%
KLA CorpKLAC	MGK +0.29 points	0.99%	0.70%
Seagate Technology Holdings PLCSTX	MGK +0.28 points	0.86%	0.58%
GE Vernova IncGEV	MGK +0.29 points	0.98%	0.69%
Sandisk CorpSNDK	MGK +0.28 points	0.98%	0.70%
Arista Networks IncANET	MGK +0.28 points	0.88%	0.60%
Amphenol CorpAPH	MGK +0.27 points	0.84%	0.57%
Netflix IncNFLX	MGK +0.28 points	1.06%	0.78%
Intuitive Surgical IncISRG	MGK +0.27 points	0.68%	0.41%
Microsoft CorpMSFT	VUG +0.27 points	9.48%	9.75%
Visa IncV	MGK +0.27 points	1.86%	1.59%
Cadence Design Systems IncCDNS	MGK +0.26 points	0.53%	0.27%
Synopsys IncSNPS	MGK +0.25 points	0.50%	0.25%
Welltower IncWELL	MGK +0.25 points	0.71%	0.46%
Oracle CorpORCL	MGK +0.25 points	0.90%	0.65%
Interactive Brokers Group IncIBKR	MGK +0.25 points	0.32%	0.07%
Western Digital CorpWDC	MGK +0.24 points	0.68%	0.44%
Corning IncGLW	MGK +0.24 points	0.58%	0.34%
ServiceNow IncNOW	MGK +0.23 points	0.62%	0.39%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals IncVRTX	MGK +0.24 points	0.61%	0.37%
Space Exploration Technologies CorpSPCX	MGK +0.24 points	0.50%	0.26%
Equinix IncEQIX	MGK +0.23 points	0.52%	0.29%
NVIDIA CorpNVDA	MGK +0.23 points	13.72%	13.49%
Boeing Co/TheBA	MGK +0.22 points	0.63%	0.41%
Ecolab IncECL	MGK +0.22 points	0.43%	0.21%
O'Reilly Automotive IncORLY	MGK +0.22 points	0.43%	0.21%
Monster Beverage CorpMNST	MGK +0.22 points	0.39%	0.17%
AppLovin CorpAPP	MGK +0.21 points	0.45%	0.24%
Booking Holdings IncBKNG	MGK +0.21 points	0.55%	0.34%
Moody's CorpMCO	MGK +0.21 points	0.41%	0.20%
Airbnb IncABNB	MGK +0.20 points	0.40%	0.20%
Alphabet IncGOOGL	VUG +0.17 points	4.99%	5.16%
Alphabet IncGOOG	VUG +0.13 points	3.96%	4.09%
Marriott International Inc/MDMAR	MGK +0.13 points	0.35%	0.22%
Cintas CorpCTAS	MGK +0.12 points	0.32%	0.20%
Fortinet IncFTNT	MGK +0.11 points	0.43%	0.32%
Snowflake IncSNOW	MGK +0.08 points	0.40%	0.32%
Apple IncAAPL	MGK +0.04 points	12.55%	12.51%
SLBBH1142	VUG +0.04 points	0.00%	0.04%
TJX Cos Inc/TheTJX	MGK +0.03 points	0.44%	0.41%
Broadcom IncAVGO	VUG +0.03 points	4.31%	4.34%
Amazon.com IncAMZN	VUG +0.03 points	4.23%	4.26%

All 69 MGK 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.

MGK vs VUG Cost

Overpaying MGK vs VUG

$422

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

MGK 0.05%
$1,060
VUG 0.03%
$638

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

MGK 0.05%
VUG 0.03%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	MGK	VUG	Overpaying
10	$92	$55	$37
20	$360	$216	$144
30	$1,060	$638	$422

Expense ratio

0.05%MGK
0.03%VUG, cheaper

VUG0.03%MGK0.05%

0.03%0.70%

Middle half of US Growth Index funds
Median 0.18%

VUG cheapest of 35 funds

MGK 5th cheapest of 35 funds

MGK vs VUG Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): MGK 0.35%; VUG 0.41%, better
Payout (12M): MGK $0.30; VUG $0.35
Last payment: MGK $0.08; VUG $0.09
Ex-dividend: MGK Sep 28, 2026; VUG Sep 28, 2026
Paid on: MGK Sep 30, 2026; VUG Sep 30, 2026
Frequency: MGK Quarterly; VUG Quarterly

Distribution history

Per share, 2017 to 2026, same scale for both

MGKQuarterly · 39 paymentsAll MGK payments⁠

VUGQuarterly · 39 paymentsAll VUG payments⁠

MGK vs VUG Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: MGK 17.9%VUG 17.3%, better
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: MGK 1.11VUG 1.11
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: MGK −36.0%VUG −35.6%, better
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: MGK 1.27VUG 1.23; Market = 1

MGK 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, 2026VUG
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
Best ETFs
The cheap large-cap growth pick is the S&P 500 list
Updated Oct 2, 2026VUG
Behind the Index
Oil rose 4.5% and the 10-year yield stood at 5% as two U.S. stocks fell for every one that rose
Sep 15, 2026VUG

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MGK vs VUG

In short

Stated mandate

Why people hold it