Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Should Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth ETF (VOT) Be on Your Investing Radar?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Designed to provide broad exposure to the Mid Cap Growth segment of the US equity market, the Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth ETF (VOT - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 08/17/2006.

The fund is sponsored by Vanguard. It has amassed assets over $9.86 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the Mid Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

Why Mid Cap Growth

Mid cap companies, with market capitalization in the range of $2 billion and $10 billion, offer investors many things that small and large companies don't, including less risk and higher growth opportunities. Thus they have a nice balance of growth potential and stability.

While growth stocks do boast higher than average sales and earnings growth rates, and they are expected to grow faster than the wider market, investors should note these kinds of stocks have higher valuations. Something to keep in mind is the higher level of volatility that is affiliated with growth stocks. They are likely to outperform value stocks in strong bull markets but over the longer-term, value stocks have delivered better returns than growth stocks in almost all markets.

Costs

Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.07%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.73%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector--about 29.20% of the portfolio. Healthcare and Industrials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Amphenol Corp. (APH - Free Report) accounts for about 1.65% of total assets, followed by Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS - Free Report) and Dexcom Inc. (DXCM - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 15.26% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

VOT seeks to match the performance of the CRSP U.S. Mid Cap Growth Index before fees and expenses. The CRSP U.S. Mid Cap Growth Index measures the investment return of mid-capitalization growth stocks.

The ETF has gained about 5.86% so far this year and is down about -12.69% in the last one year (as of 03/22/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $165.84 and $229.

The ETF has a beta of 1.10 and standard deviation of 26.31% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 172 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, VOT is an outstanding option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF (IJK - Free Report) and the iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IWP - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF has $7.15 billion in assets, iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF has $11.81 billion. IJK has an expense ratio of 0.17% and IWP charges 0.23%.

Bottom-Line

Retail and institutional investors increasingly turn to passively managed ETFs because they offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; these kind of funds are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.

To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.

Published in