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Launched on 09/22/2010, the Vanguard Russell 2000 Growth ETF (VTWG) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Small Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.
The fund is sponsored by Vanguard. It has amassed assets over $830.26 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
There's a lot of potential to investing in small cap companies, but with market capitalization below $2 billion, that high potential comes with even higher risk.
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. Something to keep in mind is the higher level of volatility that is affiliated with growth stocks. Compared to value stocks, growth stocks are a safer bet in a strong bull market, but don't perform as strongly in almost all other financial environments.
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 0.15%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.82%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Healthcare sector--about 23.10% of the portfolio. Information Technology and Industrials round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Super Micro Computer Inc (SMCI) accounts for about 1.13% of total assets, followed by Rambus Inc (RMBS) and Simpson Manufacturing Co Inc (SSD).
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 -2.63% so far this year and is up roughly 13.28% in the last one year (as of 01/10/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $148.60 and $187.42.
The ETF has a beta of 1.16 and standard deviation of 25.76% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 1081 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.