ETF Versus

VUG vs XLK

Vanguard Growth Index Fund ETF Shares vs State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF

Last updated: 2026-04-02

VUG Vanguard

Vanguard Growth Index Fund ETF Shares (VUG) is an exchange-traded fund issued by Vanguard that provides exposure to large-cap U.S. growth stocks with above-average earnings potential. It charges a very low expense ratio of 0.03%. The fund offers a modest dividend yield of 0.45%. Launched in 2004, the fund has a 22-year track record.

AUM: $179.8B ER: 0.03% Yield: 0.45% Since: Jan 26, 2004
XLK

State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) is an exchange-traded fund that provides exposure to us sector - technology securities. It charges a low expense ratio of 0.08%. The fund offers a modest dividend yield of 0.57%. Launched in 1998, the fund has a 28-year track record.

AUM: $82.2B ER: 0.08% Yield: 0.57% Since: Dec 16, 1998

Quick Verdict

VUG has a slightly lower expense ratio (0.03% vs 0.08%), saving about $99 per $10,000 over 10 years. Over the past year, XLK has significantly outperformed with a 29.7% return vs 18.0%.

Key Metrics

Metric VUG XLK
Expense Ratio 0.03% 0.08%
Dividend Yield 0.5% 0.6%
Fund Family Vanguard N/A
Category US Large Cap Growth US Sector - Technology

Performance Chart

Indexed to 100 at start (5-year comparison)

75 104 133 162 191 220 2021-04 2022-06 2023-09 2024-12 2026-04
VUG +66.0%
XLK +95.1%

Performance Comparison

Period VUG XLK Difference
1 Month -4.47% -3.32% -1.15%
3 Months -9.18% -6.51% -2.67%
6 Months -8.28% -5.23% -3.05%
YTD -9.18% -6.51% -2.67%
1 Year +18.01% +29.73% -11.72%
3 Years +77.18% +78.96% -1.78%
5 Years +66.01% +95.13% -29.12%

Fee Impact Over Time

Estimated fee cost difference assuming 8% annual returns

Investment Period VUG Fees XLK Fees You Save
$10.000 10 years $60 $159 $99
$10.000 20 years $258 $686 $427
$10.000 30 years $835 $2.212 $1.377
$50.000 10 years $299 $797 $497
$50.000 30 years $4.176 $11.061 $6.886
$100.000 30 years $8.352 $22.123 $13.771

Risk Metrics

Based on 5 years of daily returns

Metric VUG XLK
Annualized Volatility 22.2% 24.7%
Max Drawdown -36.0% -34.0%
Sharpe Ratio 0.37 0.49

Dividend Comparison

Metric VUG XLK
Annual Dividend (per share) $1.99 $0.77
Dividend Yield 0.45% 0.57%
Distribution Frequency Quarterly Quarterly

Top Holdings

4 of top 9 holdings overlap (44% overlap in top holdings)

VUG Top Holdings

NameWeight
NVIDIA CorporationNVDA12.82%
Apple Inc.AAPL12.23%
Microsoft CorporationMSFT9.15%
Alphabet Inc.GOOG4.49%
Meta Platforms, Inc.META4.44%
Amazon.com, Inc.AMZN4.41%
Broadcom Inc.AVGO3.95%
Tesla, Inc.TSLA3.58%
Eli Lilly and CompanyLLY2.82%

XLK Top Holdings

NameWeight
NVIDIA CorporationNVDA15.50%
Apple Inc.AAPL13.63%
Microsoft CorporationMSFT10.05%
Broadcom Inc.AVGO5.37%
Micron Technology, Inc.MU3.39%
Palantir Technologies Inc.PLTR2.98%
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.AMD2.95%
Cisco Systems, Inc.CSCO2.73%
Applied Materials, Inc.AMAT2.42%
Lam Research CorporationLRCX2.38%

Which One Should You Choose?

Choose VUG if...

you want the lowest fees and plan to buy and hold long-term. Over decades, the expense ratio difference compounds significantly.

Choose XLK if...

recent performance momentum matters to your strategy. Note that past performance doesn't guarantee future results.

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