The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (NYSEMKT:MGK) and iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF (NYSEMKT:IWO) differ sharply on price, sector publicity, and danger profile, with MGK focusing on the most important U.S. development shares and IWO providing entry to a sprawling basket of small-cap development corporations.
Both funds goal to seize U.S. development equities, however their approaches and underlying portfolios are worlds aside. This comparability lays out how MGK’s mega-cap tech focus stacks up in opposition to IWO’s broad small-cap publicity, serving to buyers weigh price, efficiency, diversification, and volatility.
Snapshot (price & dimension)
| Metric | MGK | IWO |
| —————————— | ————- | ————- |
| Issuer | Vanguard | IShares |
| Expense ratio | 0.05% | 0.24% |
| 1-yr return (as of 2026-04-16) | 40.8% | 46.5% |
| Dividend yield | 0.4% | 0.5% |
| Beta | 1.17 | 1.46 |
| AUM | $27.9 billion | $12.2 billion |
Beta measures value volatility relative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated from five-year month-to-month returns. The 1-yr return represents whole return over the trailing 12 months.
MGK is meaningfully extra inexpensive, with a 0.05% expense ratio versus IWO’s 0.24%. IWO edges out MGK on dividend yield, providing a 0.5% payout in comparison with MGK’s 0.4%.
Performance & danger comparability
| Metric | MGK | IWO |
| —————————– | ——- | ——- |
| Max drawdown (5 y) | -36.02% | -40.51% |
| Growth of $1,000 over 5 years | $1,895 | $1,198 |
What’s inside
IWO tracks a small-cap development universe, holding over 1,100 names and spreading property primarily throughout healthcare (25%), know-how (22%), and industrials (21%). Its largest positions, equivalent to Bloom Energy Class A (NYSE:BE), Credo Technology Group (NASDAQ:CRDO), and Fabrinet (NYSE:FN), every account for lower than 3% of property, reflecting deep diversification. The fund has a protracted observe report at 25.7 years.
MGK, in distinction, is a concentrated play on the U.S. mega-cap development area, with know-how, communication providers, and client cyclical shares dominating the portfolio. Its high holdings — Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) — make up a far bigger portion of property, highlighting a heavy tilt towards the most important tech names.
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What this implies for buyers
Choosing between the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (MGK) and iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF (IWO) comes right down to particular person investor methods and objectives. MGK grants publicity to the most important corporations within the U.S. inventory market whereas IWO focuses on the smallest.
MGK is for individuals who wish to put money into giants equivalent to Nvidia and Microsoft. As a outcome, the ETF gives extra stability and lowered danger. This is illustrated in MGK’s decrease beta and max drawdown over the past 5 years. Other benefits embrace MGK’s low expense ratio of 0.05% and bigger AUM of almost $30 billion, which gives larger liquidity for these concerned with extra energetic buying and selling.
