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Should Vanguard S&P 500 Growth ETF (VOOG) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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The Vanguard S&P 500 Growth ETF (VOOG - Free Report) was launched on 09/09/2010, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by Vanguard. It has amassed assets over $7.08 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Growth

Companies that find themselves in the large cap category typically have a market capitalization above $10 billion. They tend to be stable companies with predictable cash flows and are usually less volatile than mid and small cap companies.

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. Additionally, growth stocks have a greater level of risk associated with them. 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

Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.10%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.96%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, 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 44.50% of the portfolio. Consumer Discretionary and Healthcare round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc. (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 13.95% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp. (MSFT - Free Report) and Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 49.29% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

VOOG seeks to match the performance of the S&P 500 Growth Index before fees and expenses. The S&P 500 Growth Index measures the performance of large-capitalization growth stocks.

The ETF has added roughly 9.91% so far this year and is down about -13.07% in the last one year (as of 04/11/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $204.56 and $264.42.

The ETF has a beta of 1.05 and standard deviation of 23.37% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 242 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Vanguard S&P 500 Growth ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, VOOG is a reasonable option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Growth area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG - Free Report) and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ - Free Report) track a similar index. While Vanguard Growth ETF has $80.86 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $171.44 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.04% and QQQ charges 0.20%.

Bottom-Line

Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are 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.

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