Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth ETF (NASDAQ: VONG) and Invesco S&P SmallCap 600 Revenue ETF (NYSEMKT: RZG) represent two fundamentally different approaches to growth investing.
VONG targets large-cap U.S. corporations through the Russell 1000 Growth Index, while RZG applies a revenue-weighted strategy to small-cap growth companies within the S&P SmallCap 600.
The most immediate difference between these two funds is cost, with VONG’s expense ratio of 0.06% sharply undercutting RZG’s 0.35% annual fee.
Despite the cost disadvantage, RZG delivered a stronger trailing 12-month return of 22.3%, compared to VONG’s 6.9% over the same period as of September 10, 2026.
Over five years, however, VONG demonstrated more resilient compounding, growing a $1,000 investment to $1,742, versus $1,260 for RZG over the same horizon.
Both funds carry a 0.5% dividend yield, meaning the income argument does not meaningfully distinguish one from the other for income-focused investors.
VONG’s portfolio is heavily concentrated in technology at 68% and communication services at 17%, with its three largest holdings being Nvidia at 15.5%, Alphabet at 10.72%, and Apple at 7.5%.
RZG takes a markedly different sector approach, with its 127 holdings led by healthcare at 23%, industrials at 17%, and financial services at 17%, and top positions including ACM Research, Protagonist Therapeutics, and Dave, each at roughly 2%.
On a risk-adjusted basis, VONG carries a higher beta of 1.21 compared to RZG’s 1.02, though RZG recorded a steeper maximum five-year drawdown of 38.3% against VONG’s 32.7%.
RZG weights its holdings not by market capitalization but by a growth score incorporating sales growth, the ratio of earnings change to price, and momentum.
Investors already holding broad index funds tracking the S&P 500 may find significant overlap with VONG given its heavy exposure to Nvidia, Alphabet, and Apple as individual or fund holdings.
For those seeking exposure to an earlier stage of the corporate growth cycle, RZG offers access to smaller companies that could emerge as major market winners, though with greater volatility and operational risk.
VONG’s assets under management stand at $45.9 billion, dwarfing RZG’s $122.7 million, reflecting the much broader investor appetite for large-cap growth exposure versus niche revenue-weighted small-cap strategies.
Ultimately, the choice between these two ETFs comes down to where an investor sits on the risk spectrum and whether their existing portfolio already captures the mega-cap technology names that dominate VONG.
