Launched on August 17, 2006, the Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth Index Fund ETF Shares (VOT) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Mid Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.
The fund is sponsored by Vanguard. It has amassed assets over $19.51 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the Mid Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.
Why Mid Cap Growth
With market capitalization between $2 billion and $10 billion, mid cap companies usually contain higher growth prospects than large cap companies, and are considered less risky than their small cap counterparts. These types of companies, then, have a good balance of stability and growth potential.
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. Further, growth stocks have a higher level of volatility associated with them. They are likely to outperform value stocks in strong bull markets but over the longer-term, value stocks have delivered better returns than growth stocks in almost all markets.
Costs
Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.05%, making it the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.61%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
ETFs offer a diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector -- about 28.4% of the portfolio. Industrials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Vertiv Holdings Co (VRT) accounts for about 2.49% of total assets, followed by Howmet Aerospace Inc (HWM) and Constellation Energy Corp (CEG).
The top 10 holdings account for about 13.36% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
VOT seeks to match the performance of the CRSP U.S. Mid Cap Growth Index before fees and expenses. The CRSP U.S. Mid Cap Growth Index measures the investment return of mid-capitalization growth stocks.
The ETF return is roughly 8.06% so far this year and was up about 5.67% in the last one year (as of 07/08/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $249.63 and $306.57.
The ETF has a beta of 1.15 and standard deviation of 17.84% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 136 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth Index Fund ETF Shares 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, VOT is an outstanding option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.
The iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF (IJK) and the iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IWP) track a similar index. While iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF has $10.99 billion in assets, iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF has $20.76 billion. IJK has an expense ratio of 0.17% and IWP charges 0.23%.
Bottom-Line
Retail and institutional investors increasingly turn to passively managed ETFs because they offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; these kind of funds 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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Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth Index Fund ETF Shares (VOT): ETF Research Reports
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).