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Should Vanguard Small-Cap Growth ETF (VBK) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Small Cap Growth segment of the US equity market, the Vanguard Small-Cap Growth ETF (VBK - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 01/26/2004.

The fund is sponsored by Vanguard. It has amassed assets over $13.19 billion, making it the largest ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

Why Small Cap Growth

With more potential comes more risk, and small cap companies, with market capitalization below $2 billion, epitomizes this way of thinking.

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. Also, growth stocks are a type of equity that carries more risk compared to others. 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

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts if all other fundamentals are the same.

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 0.66%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Healthcare sector--about 21.30% of the portfolio. Information Technology and Industrials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Fair Isaac Corp. (FICO - Free Report) accounts for about 0.85% of total assets, followed by Targa Resources Corp. (TRGP - Free Report) and Axon Enterprise Inc. (AXON - Free Report) .

Performance and Risk

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

The ETF has gained about 7.68% so far this year and is up about 4.07% in the last one year (as of 05/16/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $188.16 and $237.17.

The ETF has a beta of 1.14 and standard deviation of 25.44% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 692 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Vanguard Small-Cap 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, VBK is a sufficient option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Growth area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth ETF (IJT - Free Report) and the iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF (IWO - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth ETF has $4.77 billion in assets, iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF has $9.35 billion. IJT has an expense ratio of 0.18% and IWO charges 0.23%.

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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