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Is American Century U.S. Quality Growth ETF (QGRO) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Growth category of the market, the American Century U.S. Quality Growth ETF (QGRO - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 09/10/2018.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
But, there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds; these funds track non-cap weighted strategies, and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market.
By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.
This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
Managed by American Century Investments, QGRO has amassed assets over $2.18 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - All Cap Growth. QGRO, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the AMERICAN CENTURY U.S. QUALITY GROWTH IND.
The American Century U.S. Quality Growth Index seeks to select securities of large and mid-capitalization U.S. companies with attractive growth and quality fundamentals.
Cost & Other Expenses
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.29%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 0.20%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Most ETFs are very transparent products, and disclose their holdings on a daily basis. ETFs also offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, though it's still important for investors to research a fund's holdings.
Representing 41.1% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector; Industrials and Healthcare round out the top three.
When you look at individual holdings, Netflix Inc Common Stock Usd.001 (NFLX) accounts for about 3.78% of the fund's total assets, followed by Tjx Companies Inc Common Stock Usd1.0 (TJX) and Apple Inc Common Stock Usd.00001 (AAPL).
The top 10 holdings account for about 30.46% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF return is roughly 0.05% so far this year and was up about 11.26% in the last one year (as of 05/26/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $101.49 and $117.41
QGRO has a beta of 1.10 and standard deviation of 17.84% for the trailing three-year period. With about 191 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
American Century U.S. Quality Growth ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - All Cap Growth segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
iShares Morningstar Growth ETF (ILCG) tracks MORNINGSTAR US LARGE-MID CP BRD GRWTH ID and the iShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF (IUSG) tracks S&P 900 Growth Index. iShares Morningstar Growth ETF has $3.16 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF has $31.72 billion. ILCG has an expense ratio of 0.04% and IUSG changes 0.04%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - All Cap Growth
Bottom Line
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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Is American Century U.S. Quality Growth ETF (QGRO) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Designed to provide broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Growth category of the market, the American Century U.S. Quality Growth ETF (QGRO - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 09/10/2018.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
But, there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds; these funds track non-cap weighted strategies, and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market.
By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.
This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
Managed by American Century Investments, QGRO has amassed assets over $2.18 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - All Cap Growth. QGRO, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the AMERICAN CENTURY U.S. QUALITY GROWTH IND.
The American Century U.S. Quality Growth Index seeks to select securities of large and mid-capitalization U.S. companies with attractive growth and quality fundamentals.
Cost & Other Expenses
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.29%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 0.20%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Most ETFs are very transparent products, and disclose their holdings on a daily basis. ETFs also offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, though it's still important for investors to research a fund's holdings.
Representing 41.1% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector; Industrials and Healthcare round out the top three.
When you look at individual holdings, Netflix Inc Common Stock Usd.001 (NFLX) accounts for about 3.78% of the fund's total assets, followed by Tjx Companies Inc Common Stock Usd1.0 (TJX) and Apple Inc Common Stock Usd.00001 (AAPL).
The top 10 holdings account for about 30.46% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF return is roughly 0.05% so far this year and was up about 11.26% in the last one year (as of 05/26/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $101.49 and $117.41
QGRO has a beta of 1.10 and standard deviation of 17.84% for the trailing three-year period. With about 191 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
American Century U.S. Quality Growth ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - All Cap Growth segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
iShares Morningstar Growth ETF (ILCG) tracks MORNINGSTAR US LARGE-MID CP BRD GRWTH ID and the iShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF (IUSG) tracks S&P 900 Growth Index. iShares Morningstar Growth ETF has $3.16 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF has $31.72 billion. ILCG has an expense ratio of 0.04% and IUSG changes 0.04%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - All Cap Growth
Bottom Line
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.