Data as of Sep 12, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.
USMV vs VUG: how they differ
USMV and VUG hold 19% of their weight in the same names, and VUG returned more over the year.
iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF and Vanguard Growth Index Fund.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, USMV and VUG hold 19% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | USMV | VUG |
|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA CORPORATION | 1.64% | 12.63% |
| MICROSOFT CORPORATION | 1.56% | 7.62% |
| MASTERCARD INCORPORATED | 1.15% | 1.13% |
| VISA INC. | 0.94% | 1.54% |
| APPLE INC. | 0.82% | 11.67% |
| ELI LILLY AND COMPANY | 0.66% | 2.81% |
| AMPHENOL CORPORATION | 1.51% | 0.61% |
| MCDONALD'S CORPORATION | 1.25% | 0.54% |
| ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES, INC. | 0.53% | 2.62% |
| PALO ALTO NETWORKS, INC. | 0.53% | 0.78% |
| ARISTA NETWORKS, INC. | 0.52% | 0.52% |
| BROADCOM INC. | 0.50% | 4.29% |
| Only in USMV | Only in VUG |
|---|---|
| CISCO SYSTEMS, INC. 1.81% | Alphabet Inc 5.76% |
| EXXON MOBIL CORPORATION 1.60% | Tesla Inc 3.27% |
| DUKE ENERGY CORPORATION 1.55% | Lam Research Corp 1.51% |
| THE SOUTHERN COMPANY 1.53% | KLA Corp 1.10% |
| Chubb Limited 1.50% | Sandisk Corp 0.94% |
| VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC. 1.49% | Intel Corp 0.79% |
| WASTE MANAGEMENT, INC. 1.48% | Western Digital Corp 0.62% |
| JOHNSON & JOHNSON 1.44% | Seagate Technology Holdings PLC 0.61% |
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.
| USMV iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF | VUG Vanguard Growth Index Fund | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Core index fund | Core index fund |
| Issuer | iShares | Vanguard |
| What it is | MSCI USA Min Vol Factor | US growth |
| Total return, 1 year | +6.6% | +12.9% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +17.5% | +17.5% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | −10.9 pts | −4.6 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.15% | 0.03% |
| Already in the S&P 500 | 94.8% | 97.4% |
| Holdings | 170 | 147 |
USMV in plain words
USMV is an index equity fund tracking the MSCI USA Min Vol Factor. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +6.6% 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, 95% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 170 positions, with the top ten at 15.7%.
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, USMV or VUG?
- In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, USMV returned +6.6% and VUG returned +12.9%, so VUG returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
- Which is cheaper, USMV or VUG?
- USMV charges 0.15% a year and VUG charges 0.03%, so VUG is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
- How much do USMV and VUG overlap with the S&P 500?
- By their latest filed holdings, 95% of USMV and 97% of VUG by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds. Between the two funds, 19% 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, USMV against VUG, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/USMV-VUG Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources