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Should Vanguard Russell 2000 Growth ETF (VTWG) 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 Russell 2000 Growth ETF (VTWG - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 09/22/2010.

The fund is sponsored by Vanguard. It has amassed assets over $640.31 million, making it one of the average sized 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. Additionally, growth stocks have a greater level of risk 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

When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts in the long term if all other factors remain equal.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.15%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.61%.

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 26.70% of the portfolio. Information Technology and Industrials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Slbbh1142 accounts for about 1.97% of total assets, followed by Intellia Therapeutics Inc. (NTLA - Free Report) and Crocs Inc. (CROX - Free Report) .

Performance and Risk

VTWG seeks to match the performance of the Russell 2000 Growth Index before fees and expenses. The Russell 2000 Growth Index measures the performance of those Russell 2000 companies with higher price/book ratios and higher predicted and historical growth rates.

The ETF has lost about -12.21% so far this year and is down about -21.56% in the last one year (as of 02/16/2022). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $172.60 and $238.24.

The ETF has a beta of 1.21 and standard deviation of 28.87% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 1258 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Vanguard Russell 2000 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, VTWG is a good 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 Russell 2000 Growth ETF (IWO - Free Report) and the Vanguard SmallCap Growth ETF (VBK - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF has $10.58 billion in assets, Vanguard SmallCap Growth ETF has $14.57 billion. IWO has an expense ratio of 0.24% and VBK charges 0.07%.

Bottom-Line

While an excellent vehicle for long term investors, passively managed ETFs are a popular choice among institutional and retail investors due to their low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency.

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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