Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
AVUS vs VUG: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, AVUS returned +18.0% to VUG's +6.6%; 42% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $14.8bn on Oct 27, 2026 for Avantis U.S. Equity ETF, and $232.9bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Morningstar Growth ETF.
Pair scorecard
VUG costs 0.12 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 11.4 points.
| Measure | AVUS | VUG |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +18.0% | +6.6% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 4.1%, high on Oct 6, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | No index, actively managed | Morningstar US Large Cap Growth Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.15% | 0.03% |
| Net assets, AVUS as of Oct 27, 2026 and VUG as of Sep 30, 2026 | $14.8bn | $232.9bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 42% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 30.0% | 63.1% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Oct 4, 2019 to Oct 23, 2026 · 368 weekly returnsVUG returned more: +227.1% to +183.7%. AVUS swung less: 19.5% to 22.4%. AVUS and VUG fell about the same at their worst: −35.1% and −35.6%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | AVUS | VUG | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +183.7% | +227.1% | VUG | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +15.9% | +18.2% | VUG | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +158.5% | +213.6% | VUG | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 19.5% | 22.4% | AVUS | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 13.6% | 14.9% | AVUS (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −35.1% | −35.6% | Tie | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.71 | 0.73 | VUG (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 1.02 | 1.10 | VUG (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.45 | 0.51 | VUG | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 368 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, AVUS and VUG hold 42% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
42% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
AVUS and VUG on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
AVUS and VUG do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. AVUS follows No index, actively managed and VUG follows Morningstar US Large Cap Growth Index.
- Holdings in common. 42% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 AVUS returned +18.0% and VUG +6.6% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 11.4 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +18.0% with distributions reinvested, against +13.3% for its benchmark, the Russell 3000.
AVUS is actively managed and tracks no index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 84% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 1,943 positions, with the top ten at 30.0%.
VUG
VUG tracks an index of US growth. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +6.6% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 97% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 137 positions, with the top ten at 63.1%. It sat 4.1% below its high of Oct 6, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, AVUS or VUG?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AVUS returned +18.0% and VUG +6.6%.
- Which is cheaper, AVUS or VUG?
- VUG is cheaper, by 0.12 percentage points a year. That is about $12 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.
How this is computed
Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.
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ETFIQ, AVUS against VUG, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/avus-vs-vug
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). AVUS against VUG. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/avus-vs-vug
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