Vanguard ETFs Provide Low-Cost Alternatives to Expensive Funds

Vanguard’s S&P 500 Growth ETF (VOOG) and State Street’s S&P 600 Small‑Cap Growth ETF (SLYG) illustrate two contrasting approaches to growth investing. VOOG tracks large‑cap technology leaders, carries a 0.07% expense ratio and posted a 25.3% one‑year return, while SLYG focuses on smaller companies, has a 0.15% expense ratio and returned 31.1% over the same period. Both funds aim for capital appreciation, but VOOG is more concentrated in tech and more volatile, whereas SLYG offers broader sector exposure.

In a separate analysis, Vanguard’s Mega‑Cap ETF (MGC) and Growth ETF (VUG) are highlighted as low‑cost ways to mirror the holdings of activist investor Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square USA (PSUS). MGC tracks the CRSP US Mega‑Cap Index with a 0.07% expense ratio and includes seven of Ackman’s eight public positions, such as Microsoft and Amazon. VUG, with a 0.03% expense ratio, emphasizes growth‑oriented technology firms and captures five of Ackman’s positions. Both ETFs provide investors exposure to large‑cap and growth stocks at a fraction of PSUS’s 2% annual fee.