Designed to provide broad exposure to the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market, the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (MGK Quick QuoteMGK - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on December 17, 2007.

The fund is sponsored by Vanguard. It has amassed assets over $28.92 billion, making it one of the largest 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. Considered a more stable option, large cap companies boast more predictable cash flows and are less volatile than their mid and small cap counterparts.

Qualities of growth stocks include faster growth rates compared to the broader market, as well as higher valuations and higher than average sales and earnings growth rates. Also, growth stocks are a type of equity that carries more risk compared to others. Even though growth stocks are more likely to outperform their value counterparts in strong bull markets, value stocks have a record of delivering better returns in almost all markets than growth stocks.

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 0.07%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.41%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

ETFs offer a diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector -- about 56.5% of the portfolio. Consumer Discretionary and Telecom round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Nvidia Corp (NVDA) accounts for about 14.47% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT) and Apple Inc (AAPL).

The top 10 holdings account for about 64.56% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

MGK seeks to match the performance of the CRSP U.S. Mega Cap Growth Index before fees and expenses. The CRSP US Mega Cap Growth Index is a float-adjusted, market-capitalization-weighted index designed to measure equity market performance of mega-capitalization growth stocks in the United States.

The ETF has gained about 12.02% so far this year and was up about 23.77% in the last one year (as of 09/01/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $273.67 and $389.51.

The ETF has a beta of 1.19 and standard deviation of 21.85% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 71 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, MGK is a great option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG) and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ) track a similar index. While Vanguard Growth ETF has $184.82 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $365.36 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.04% and QQQ charges 0.2%.

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.