Data as of Sep 12, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.
QUAL vs VUG: how they differ
QUAL and VUG hold 43% of their weight in the same names, and QUAL returned more over the year.
iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF and Vanguard Growth Index Fund.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, QUAL and VUG hold 43% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | QUAL | VUG |
|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA CORPORATION | 6.52% | 12.63% |
| APPLE INC. | 6.28% | 11.67% |
| MICROSOFT CORPORATION | 5.05% | 7.62% |
| META PLATFORMS, INC. | 3.50% | 3.41% |
| ELI LILLY AND COMPANY | 2.92% | 2.81% |
| ALPHABET INC. | 2.54% | 5.76% |
| ALPHABET INC. | 2.12% | 4.54% |
| APPLIED MATERIALS, INC. | 2.45% | 1.60% |
| VISA INC. | 3.09% | 1.54% |
| LAM RESEARCH CORPORATION | 3.23% | 1.51% |
| COSTCO WHOLESALE CORPORATION | 1.31% | 1.16% |
| MASTERCARD INCORPORATED | 2.30% | 1.13% |
| Only in QUAL | Only in VUG |
|---|---|
| CATERPILLAR INC. 2.52% | Amazon.com Inc 4.47% |
| BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. 2.12% | Broadcom Inc 4.29% |
| JOHNSON & JOHNSON 1.92% | Tesla Inc 3.27% |
| SLB N.V. 1.56% | Advanced Micro Devices Inc 2.62% |
| QUALCOMM INCORPORATED 1.42% | Sandisk Corp 0.94% |
| WALMART INC. 1.23% | GE Vernova Inc 0.89% |
| ATMOS ENERGY CORPORATION 1.21% | Intel Corp 0.79% |
| MERCK & CO., INC. 1.08% | Palo Alto Networks Inc 0.78% |
Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Apr 30, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026.
| QUAL iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF | VUG Vanguard Growth Index Fund | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Core index fund | Core index fund |
| Issuer | iShares | Vanguard |
| What it is | MSCI USA Quality Factor | US growth |
| Total return, 1 year | +16.0% | +12.9% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +17.5% | +17.5% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | −1.5 pts | −4.6 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.15% | 0.03% |
| Already in the S&P 500 | 98.9% | 97.4% |
| Holdings | 121 | 147 |
QUAL in plain words
QUAL is an index equity fund tracking the MSCI USA Quality Factor. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +16.0% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. By its holdings filed for Apr 30, 2026, 99% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 121 positions, with the top ten at 39.1%. It sat 3.1% below its high of Aug 13, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.
VUG in plain words
VUG is an index equity fund tracking the US growth. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +12.9% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. By its holdings filed for Jun 30, 2026, 97% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 147 positions, with the top ten at 60.5%.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, QUAL or VUG?
- In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QUAL returned +16.0% and VUG returned +12.9%, so QUAL returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
- Which is cheaper, QUAL or VUG?
- QUAL charges 0.15% a year and VUG charges 0.03%, so VUG is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
- How much do QUAL and VUG overlap with the S&P 500?
- By their latest filed holdings, 99% of QUAL and 97% of VUG by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds. Between the two funds, 43% of their books are the same securities at the same weight.
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Where these figures came from
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, QUAL against VUG, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/QUAL-VUG Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources