ETF Versus

VUG vs XLK

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

Last updated: 2026-04-10

VUG

Vanguard Growth Index Fund ETF Shares (VUG) is an exchange-traded fund 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 0.43%. Launched in 2004, the fund has a 22-year track record.

AUM: $193.7B ER: 0.03% Yield: 0.43% 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 0.54%. Launched in 1998, the fund has a 28-year track record.

AUM: $90.3B ER: 0.08% Yield: 0.54% 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 46.2% return vs 30.1%.

Key Metrics

Metric VUG XLK
Expense Ratio 0.03% 0.08%
Dividend Yield 0.4% 0.5%
Fund Family N/A N/A
Category US Large Cap Growth US Sector - Technology

Performance Chart

Indexed to 100 at start (5-year comparison)

75 103 131 159 187 215 2021-04 2022-07 2023-10 2024-12 2026-04
VUG +68.9%
XLK +101.4%

Performance Comparison

Period VUG XLK Difference
1 Month -0.86% +1.17% -2.03%
3 Months -6.70% -3.22% -3.48%
6 Months -4.19% -0.36% -3.83%
YTD -5.49% -1.55% -3.94%
1 Year +30.07% +46.19% -16.12%
3 Years +86.72% +92.52% -5.80%
5 Years +68.85% +101.39% -32.54%

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 0.38 0.51

Dividend Comparison

Metric VUG XLK
Annual Dividend (per share) $1.99 $0.77
Dividend Yield 0.43% 0.54%
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 CorporationNVDA15.18%
Apple Inc.AAPL13.04%
Microsoft CorporationMSFT9.54%
Broadcom Inc.AVGO5.71%
Micron Technology, Inc.MU3.83%
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.AMD3.16%
Cisco Systems, Inc.CSCO2.76%
Palantir Technologies Inc.PLTR2.69%
Lam Research CorporationLRCX2.57%
Applied Materials, Inc.AMAT2.56%

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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