PWB vs VUG

PWBCInvesco Large Cap Growth ETF

VUGAVanguard Morningstar Growth ETF

In short

PWB Smart beta before it had a name. Since 2005, PWB has run a rules-based Intellidex screen down to about 50 large-cap growth names instead of owning the whole growth index by size.

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

PWB The Fund seeks capital appreciation by tracking the Dynamic Large Cap Growth IntellidexSM Index.

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

Why people hold it

• PWB Live since 2005, making it one of the longest-running rules-based growth ETFs on the market, with two decades of history through multiple full market cycles.invesco.com
• The Intellidex screen lands on roughly 50 names, so it behaves less like a cap-weighted growth index and more like a quant stock-picker in an index wrapper.
• A billion-dollar-plus fund with moderate trading activity and one clearly stated job: capital appreciation by tracking the Dynamic Large Cap Growth Intellidex Index.

• 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

• PWB At 0.55% a year, it runs roughly three times the 0.18% median for its growth cohort, and the cheapest peers (VUG, SCHG) charge 0.03% to 0.04%.
• With about 50 holdings, single names and sector tilts carry real weight, so the ride can look quite different from a broad cap-weighted growth index.
• The stated mandate is capital appreciation, not income, and the fund has not been a regular distribution payer.

• 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 PWB profile⁠

Full VUG profile⁠