Designed to provide broad exposure to the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market, the Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF (SCHG) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on December 11, 2009.
The fund is sponsored by Charles Schwab. It has amassed assets over $59.45 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.
Why Large Cap Growth
Large cap companies typically have a market capitalization above $10 billion. They tend to be stable companies with predictable cash flows and are usually less volatile than mid and small cap companies.
While growth stocks do boast higher than average sales and earnings growth rates, and they are expected to grow faster than the wider market, investors should note these kinds of stocks have higher valuations. Also, growth stocks are a type of equity that carries more risk compared to others. 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
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 0.04%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.39%.
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 Information Technology sector -- about 45.6% of the portfolio. Telecom and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Nvidia Corp (NVDA) accounts for about 11.75% of total assets, followed by Apple Inc (AAPL) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT).
The top 10 holdings account for about 57.74% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
SCHG seeks to match the performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Large-Cap Growth Total Stock Market Index before fees and expenses. The Dow Jones U.S. Large-Cap Growth Total Stock Market Index is float-adjusted market-capitalization weighted and includes the large-cap growth portion of the Dow Jones U.S. Total Stock Market Index.
The ETF has added about 4.81% so far this year and is up roughly 16.42% in the last one year (as of 07/06/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $28.10 and $35.30.
The ETF has a beta of 1.19 and standard deviation of 19.15% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 196 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, SCHG is a great option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.
The Vanguard Growth Index Fund ETF Shares (VUG) and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ) track a similar index. While Vanguard Growth Index Fund ETF Shares has $220.92 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $472.90 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.03% and QQQ charges 0.18%.
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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Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF (SCHG): ETF Research Reports
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).