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VTWG vs VUG

Vanguard Russell 2000 Growth ETF

VTWGBNasdaq

Vanguard Morningstar Growth ETF

VUGANYSE Arca

Overlap

Expense ratio

VUG −0.03pt a year

VTWG0.06%VUG0.03%

Avg volume · 30D

VUG 300.8×the volume

VTWG21KVUG6.32M

10Y return · a year

VUG +7.1pt

VTWG+10.5%VUG+17.6%

VTWG vs VUG Performance

Oct 29, 2021 – Oct 30, 2026

+18.8%VTWG+67.0%VUG

Oct 29, 2021 to Oct 30, 2026. VTWG +18.8%. VUG +67.0%. Use the arrow keys to read each point.−25%0%50%Oct 2021Apr 2024Oct 2026
Expense ratio
VTWG 0.06%
VUG 0.03%, better
Fund size
VTWG $1.6B
VUG $392B
1Y total return
VTWG +7.1%, better
VUG +2.7%
Yield (12M)
VTWG 0.68%, better
VUG 0.41%
Holdings
VTWG 1138
VUG 136
Avg volume (30D)
VTWG 21K sh
VUG 6.32M sh, better
NAV per share
VTWG $257.02
VUG $85.06
52W range

ETF.net Grade

VTWG: Cost 78, Risk 29, Mission 91, Tradability 27, Holdings 85, Durability 72. VUG: Cost 96, Risk 49, Mission 99, Tradability 65, Holdings 29, Durability 91.
Pillar letters and Scores for VTWG, VUG, with each pillar’s weight
PillarVTWGVUG
Cost30% weightA78A96Higher
Mission25% weightA91A99Higher
Risk15% weightD29C49Higher
Tradability15% weightD27B65Higher
Holdings10% weightA85HigherD29
Durability5% weightA72A91Higher

Rank among US Growth Index funds

How we build Categories ›
Same Category. Both funds are graded against the same funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

Same Category. VTWG 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 VTWG 14th of 35 funds in the US Growth Index Category.

  1. Rank 2ASCHGSchwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETFScore 78
  2. Rank 5AVUGVanguard Morningstar Growth ETFScore 77
  3. Rank 6AVBKVanguard Morningstar Small-Cap Growth ETFScore 72
  4. Rank 14BIWFiShares Russell 1000 Growth ETFScore 66
  5. Rank 14BVTWGVanguard Russell 2000 Growth ETFScore 66
  6. Rank 16BIWPiShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETFScore 61

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

VTWGBVanguard Russell 2000 Growth ETF

VUGAVanguard Morningstar Growth ETF

In short

VTWG Vanguard's Russell 2000 Growth tracker holds the index in full, roughly 1,100 small-cap names, for six basis points. Most of the top-rated growth ETFs crowd into mega-caps. This one stays where the small companies are.

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

VTWG The fund seeks to track the Russell 2000 Growth Index, which represents small-capitalization U.S. growth stocks. It uses passive full replication.

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

Why people hold it

  • VTWG At 0.06% a year, it costs about a third of the typical fund in its growth-ETF peer group, where the median sits near 0.18%.
  • Full replication, not sampling: roughly 1,100 stocks held at index weights, so the portfolio is the benchmark rather than a proxy for it.vanguard.com
  • Small-cap growth exposure spread across about 1,100 companies, so no single name drives the fund the way it can in mega-cap growth products (VUG, SCHG, SPYG).
  • Running since 2010 as the ETF share class of a Vanguard index fund, with a plain passive mandate and quarterly distributions.vanguard.com
  • 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

  • VTWG Small caps move harder than mega-caps. The prospectus flags stock market, investment style and small-cap risk as the main things that can bite.vanguard.com
  • It trades lightly next to the category's giants, so wider bid-ask spreads are part of the package.
  • Vanguard's own VBK covers similar small-cap growth ground on a different index at 0.05%, so the two overlap with different rulebooks.
  • 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 VTWG profile⁠

Full VUG profile⁠

VTWG vs 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.

VTWG vs VUG Cost

Overpaying VTWG vs VUG

$632

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

  • VTWG 0.06%

    $1,270

  • VUG 0.03%

    $638

$10,000
30 years

Cost over time

  • VTWG 0.06%
  • VUG 0.03%
  • Overpaying
One line per fund, from year 0 to year 30. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$0$500$1K$1.5K051015202530VTWG $1,270VUG $638

Year by year

YearVTWGVUGOverpaying
10$110$55$55
20$432$216$216
30$1,270$638$632

Expense ratio

  • 0.06%VTWG
  • 0.03%VUG, cheaper
  • Middle half of US Growth Index funds
  • Median 0.18%

VUG cheapest of 35 funds

VTWG 9th cheapest of 35 funds

VTWG vs VUG Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026
Yield (12M)
VTWG 0.68%, better
VUG 0.41%
Payout (12M)
VTWG $1.75
VUG $0.35
Last payment
VTWG $0.34
VUG $0.09
Ex-dividend
VTWG Sep 23, 2026
VUG Sep 28, 2026
Paid on
VTWG Sep 25, 2026
VUG Sep 30, 2026
Frequency
VTWG Quarterly
VUG Quarterly

Distribution history

Per share, 2017 to 2026, same scale for both

VTWGQuarterly · 39 paymentsAll VTWG payments⁠
One bar per payment. 39 payments from 2017 to 2026 YTD. Mar 22, 2017 $0.17; Jun 28, 2017 $0.24; Sep 27, 2017 $0.23; Dec 14, 2017 $0.24; Mar 22, 2018 $0.15; Jun 28, 2018 $0.21; Sep 26, 2018 $0.27; Dec 13, 2018 $0.25; Mar 25, 2019 $0.17; Jun 21, 2019 $0.25; Sep 26, 2019 $0.35; Dec 16, 2019 $0.36; Mar 26, 2020 $0.23; Jun 25, 2020 $0.20; Sep 11, 2020 $0.19; Dec 17, 2020 $0.39; Mar 26, 2021 $0.19; Jun 29, 2021 $0.11; Sep 29, 2021 $0.23; Dec 16, 2021 $0.62; Mar 24, 2022 $0.06; Jun 29, 2022 $0.14; Sep 28, 2022 $0.39; Dec 15, 2022 $0.51; Mar 23, 2023 $0.33; Jun 23, 2023 $0.27; Sep 21, 2023 $0.38; Dec 19, 2023 $0.48; Mar 21, 2024 $0.27; Jun 27, 2024 $0.27; Sep 26, 2024 $0.23; Dec 23, 2024 $0.41; Mar 25, 2025 $0.22; Jun 20, 2025 $0.38; Sep 24, 2025 $0.25; Dec 22, 2025 $0.67; Mar 24, 2026 $0.32; Jun 18, 2026 $0.42; Sep 23, 2026 $0.34. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$0$0.502017202020232026YTD
VUGQuarterly · 39 paymentsAll VUG payments⁠
One bar per payment. 39 payments from 2017 to 2026 YTD. Mar 24, 2017 $0.06; Jun 23, 2017 $0.06; Sep 22, 2017 $0.07; Dec 21, 2017 $0.08; Mar 22, 2018 $0.06; Jun 22, 2018 $0.07; Sep 28, 2018 $0.08; Dec 24, 2018 $0.09; Mar 28, 2019 $0.07; Jun 27, 2019 $0.07; Sep 16, 2019 $0.06; Dec 24, 2019 $0.08; Mar 26, 2020 $0.07; Jun 25, 2020 $0.07; Sep 25, 2020 $0.07; Dec 24, 2020 $0.08; Mar 25, 2021 $0.06; Jun 24, 2021 $0.06; Sep 24, 2021 $0.05; Dec 27, 2021 $0.08; Mar 23, 2022 $0.05; Jun 23, 2022 $0.05; Sep 23, 2022 $0.07; Dec 22, 2022 $0.07; Mar 23, 2023 $0.07; Jun 23, 2023 $0.07; Sep 21, 2023 $0.06; Dec 21, 2023 $0.10; Mar 21, 2024 $0.08; Jun 27, 2024 $0.08; Sep 26, 2024 $0.08; Dec 23, 2024 $0.09; Mar 27, 2025 $0.08; Jun 30, 2025 $0.08; Sep 29, 2025 $0.08; Dec 22, 2025 $0.08; Mar 27, 2026 $0.08; Jun 26, 2026 $0.09; Sep 28, 2026 $0.09. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$0$0.502017202020232026YTD

VTWG vs VUG Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

  • VTWG
  • VUG
Oct 29, 2021 to Oct 30, 2026. Worst fall: VTWG −40.5% · Jun 2022. Use the arrow keys to read each point.−40%−30%−20%−10%0%Oct 2021Apr 2024Oct 2026

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years
VTWG 20.7%VUG 17.3%, better
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years
VTWG 0.78VUG 1.11, better
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years
VTWG −40.5%VUG −35.6%, better
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years
VTWG 1.43VUG 1.23

VTWG and VUG in the news

All news⁠

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