If you're interested in broad exposure to the Small Cap Growth segment of the US equity market, look no further than the Vanguard Russell 2000 Growth ETF (VTWG), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on September 22, 2010.
The fund is sponsored by Vanguard. It has amassed assets over $1.27 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.
Why Small Cap Growth
Small cap companies have market capitalization below $2 billion. They usually have higher potential than large and mid cap companies with stocks but higher risk.
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. Further, growth stocks have a higher level of volatility associated with them. When you consider growth versus value, growth stocks are usually the clear winner in strong bull markets but tend to fall flat in nearly all other environments.
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 0.06%, 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 Industrials sector -- about 24.4% of the portfolio. Healthcare and Information Technology round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd (CRDO) accounts for about 1.44% of total assets, followed by Bloom Energy Corp (BE) and Fabrinet (FN).
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 return is roughly 4.93% so far this year and was up about 16.13% in the last one year (as of 02/12/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $163.60 and $258.29.
The ETF has a beta of 1.15 and standard deviation of 21.85% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 1115 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) and the Vanguard Small-Cap Growth ETF (VBK) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF has $13.38 billion in assets, Vanguard Small-Cap Growth ETF has $21.12 billion. IWO has an expense ratio of 0.24% and VBK charges 0.05%.
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 Russell 2000 Growth ETF (VTWG): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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