Vanguard offers two growth-oriented ETFs that sit at opposite ends of the market-cap spectrum. The Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth ETF (VONG) tracks large-cap growth stocks, while the Vanguard Small-Cap Growth ETF (VBK) targets the smaller end of the growth universe. Both carry low expense ratios — 0.06% for VONG and 0.05% for VBK — and both show a beta of 1.16 versus the S&P 500, but their recent performance and risk profiles have diverged sharply.
As of July 10, 2026, VBK traded at $354.19 with $45.5 billion in assets, while VONG traded at $127.57 with $54.8 billion under management. Over the trailing 12 months, VBK delivered a 25.6% total return compared with 16.2% for VONG. The small-cap fund also posted a 26.9% gain over the past year with a 52-week range of $273.57 to $366.86.
Yet the five-year picture flips: a $1,000 investment in VONG grew to $1,847, while the same amount in VBK reached only $1,261. VONG's maximum drawdown over five years was 32.7%, versus 38.4% for VBK.
The composition gap explains much of the difference. VONG holds 387 companies, with technology accounting for roughly 63% of the portfolio. Its top five holdings — Nvidia (13.1%), Apple (12%), Microsoft (9%), Alphabet (7.1%), and Broadcom (5.8%) — concentrate more than half the fund in a handful of megacap names. The Russell 1000 Growth Index methodology also incorporates a price-to-book screen, which can temper exposure to the most richly valued stocks.