Low‑Cost VONG Keeps Long‑Run Lead as Small‑Cap Growth ETFs Outpace It Short Term

The comparison forces investors to weigh VONG's 0.06% fee and stronger five‑year gains against IJT and RZG's higher recent returns and greater volatility.

Overview

Recent June coverage found small‑cap growth ETFs outperformed VONG over the trailing 12 months, with IJT returning about 31.2% and RZG about 39.8% versus VONG's roughly 20.3%.
Vanguard's Russell 1000 Growth ETF (VONG) charges a 0.06% expense ratio, holds about $54.8 billion in assets, and is heavily concentrated in technology with top weights in NVIDIA (13.07%), Apple (11.95%) and Microsoft (8.96%).
The small‑cap peers charge higher fees—IJT at 0.18% and RZG at 0.35%—and have much smaller asset bases, which can mean higher trading costs and lower capacity for very large orders.
Small‑cap funds delivered stronger one‑year returns but showed higher volatility and deeper drawdowns, for example a five‑year max drawdown near 38.3% for RZG versus about 32.7% for VONG.
The practical choice depends on investor time horizon and fee sensitivity because VONG's low costs and diversification have produced stronger five‑year cumulative growth while IJT and RZG offer higher short‑term upside at greater risk and potential liquidity limits.