VBK vs VUG

VBKAVanguard Morningstar Small-Cap Growth ETF

VUGAVanguard Morningstar Growth ETF

In short

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.

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

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.

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

Why people hold 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.

• 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

• 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.

• 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 VBK profile⁠

Full VUG profile⁠