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

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

The fund is sponsored by Vanguard. It has amassed assets over $9.89 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 have market capitalization between $2 billion and $10 billion. They usually have higher growth prospects than large cap companies and are less volatile than small cap companies. Thus, companies that fall under this category provide a stable and growth-heavy investment.

Growth stocks have higher than average sales and earnings growth rates. While these are expected to grow faster than the broader market, they also have higher valuations. Further, growth stocks have a higher level of volatility 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

Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts, other things remaining 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 0.77%.

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 27.70% of the portfolio. Industrials and Healthcare round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS - Free Report) accounts for about 1.81% of total assets, followed by Amphenol Corp. (APH - Free Report) and Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 13.25% 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 added roughly 5.99% so far this year and is up about 3.82% in the last one year (as of 05/24/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $165.84 and $208.72.

The ETF has a beta of 1.10 and standard deviation of 24.09% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 166 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 excellent 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 $7.23 billion in assets, iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF has $11.98 billion. IJK has an expense ratio of 0.17% and IWP charges 0.23%.

Bottom-Line

An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they 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.

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