The selection between Vanguard S&P 500 Growth ETF (NYSEMKT:VOOG) and State Street SPDR S&P 600 Small Cap Growth ETF (NYSEMKT:SLYG) hinges on whether or not an investor prefers large-cap stability and tech dominance or the potential increased volatility of small-cap progress.
These two funds goal reverse ends of the market capitalization spectrum. While each prioritize progress elements, they function in several universes: one captures the titan firms of the U.S. financial system, and the different focuses on smaller corporations with excessive growth potential. This evaluation compares their prices, threat profiles, and portfolios.
Snapshot (price & measurement)
Beta measures worth volatility relative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated from month-to-month returns over the accessible fund historical past (as much as 5 years). The 1-yr return represents complete return over the trailing 12 months. Dividend yield is the trailing-12-month distribution yield.
The Vanguard S&P 500 Growth ETF is the extra reasonably priced choice with an expense ratio of 0.07%, which is lower than half of the 0.15% charged by the State Street fund. While each supply modest revenue, the yield hole displays their main give attention to capital appreciation.
Performance & threat comparability
What’s inside
The Vanguard S&P 500 Growth ETF holds 212 shares and is closely tilted towards expertise at 52%, communication companies at 16%, and client cyclical at 9%. Its largest positions embrace NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) at 13.64%, Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) at 7.80%, and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) at 5.98%. The fund was launched in 2010. It has paid $0.37 per share over the trailing 12 months, which, at its current ~$80.29 share worth, yields 0.4%.
In distinction, the State Street SPDR S&P 600 Small Cap Growth ETF targets smaller corporations with prime holdings together with Viasat Inc (NASDAQ:VSAT) at 1.15%, Corcept Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:CORT) at 1.06%, and Alkermes Plc (NASDAQ:ALKS) at 1.01%. This fund holds 350 positions, with a extra balanced sector combine: industrials at 19%, expertise at 18%, and healthcare at 17%. It was launched in 2000. It has paid $0.76 per share over the trailing 12 months, which, at its current ~$114.58 share worth, yields 0.7%.
For extra steerage on ETF investing, take a look at the full information at this link.
Which is the higher purchase
The Vanguard S&P 500 Growth ETF (VOOG) and the State Street SPDR S&P 600 Small Cap Growth ETF (SLYG) are each growth-oriented exchange-traded funds (ETFs), they make use of very totally different methods to ship returns for buyers. Let’s take a look at every fund individually.
First, there’s VOOG. This fund is loaded with tech megacap shares. Indeed, simply three shares — Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia — account for about 27% of the fund’s holdings. As for sectors, expertise (67% of complete holdings) is the largest, adopted by financials (9%) and client durables (2%). Overall, the fund is nearly fully targeted on the U.S. inventory market, with greater than 98% of all holdings in U.S. shares. As for efficiency, VOOG has generated a complete return of 385% over the final 10 years, with a compound annual progress charge (CAGR) of 17.1%. Both figures are excellent and surpass the benchmark S&P 500, which has delivered a complete return of 300%, equating to a CAGR of 14.9% over the similar interval. As for charges, VOOG has a low expense ratio of 0.07%.
Then, there’s SLYG. Unlike its counterpart, SLYG focuses on the small and mid cap progress sector. Rather than concentrating on tech giants, SLY invests in a lot smaller firms with market caps below $10 billion. For context, Microsoft has a market cap of $2.8 trillion, that means SLYG’s holdings are very totally different from these in the VOOG portfolio. For instance, SLYG’s prime sector holdings are expertise (22%), adopted by financials (21%) and manufacturing (9%). Turning to efficiency, the fund has delivered a complete return of 182% over the final 10 years, with a CAGR of 10.9%. While this is not horrible by any means, the fund has underperformed the benchmark, the S&P 500, and fallen effectively in need of VOOG’s returns. SLYG additionally has a barely increased expense ratio at 0.15%.
In abstract, these two funds are each acceptable selections for buyers searching for publicity to the progress sector of the inventory market. However, VOOG beats SLYG on each efficiency and charges. Yet, for buyers searching for diversification away from the tech megacaps, SLYG provides a viable different.
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Jake Lerch has positions in Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alkermes Plc, Apple, Corcept Therapeutics, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
How Do the Vanguard S&P 500 Growth ETF and the State Street Small Cap Growth ETF Compare? was initially revealed by The Motley Fool