Looking for broad exposure to the Mid Cap Growth segment of the US equity market? You should consider the Vanguard S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF (IVOG), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on September 9, 2010.
The fund is sponsored by Vanguard. It has amassed assets over $1.17 billion, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Mid Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.
Why Mid Cap Growth
Mid cap companies, with market capitalization in the range of $2 billion and $10 billion, offer investors many things that small and large companies don't, including less risk and higher growth opportunities. Thus they have a nice balance of growth potential and stability.
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. Additionally, growth stocks have a greater level of risk associated with them. 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
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts if all other fundamentals are the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.1%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.74%.
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 Industrials sector -- about 28.7% of the portfolio. Financials and Information Technology round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Interactive Brokers Group Inc (IBKR) accounts for about 1.82% of total assets, followed by Emcor Group Inc (EME) and Comfort Systems Usa Inc (FIX).
The top 10 holdings account for about 10.01% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
IVOG seeks to match the performance of the S&P MidCap 400 Growth Index before fees and expenses. The S&P MidCap 400 Growth Index measures the performance of growth stocks of medium-size U.S. companies.
The ETF has added about 6.69% so far this year and is up roughly 12.81% in the last one year (as of 09/09/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $91.51 and $123.97.
The ETF has a beta of 1.08 and standard deviation of 19.79% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 248 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
Vanguard S&P Mid-Cap 400 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, IVOG is a great 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 Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth ETF (VOT) and the iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IWP) track a similar index. While Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth ETF has $17.67 billion in assets, iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF has $20.48 billion. VOT has an expense ratio of 0.07% 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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Vanguard S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF (IVOG): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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