COWG vs MLRG: Differences, Returns & Fees
COWG and MLRG hold 13% of their weight in the same names, and MLRG returned +15.5% over the year. Net assets: $2.4bn on Oct 2, 2026 for Pacer US Large Cap Cash Cows Growth Leaders ETF, and $1.3bn on Oct 20, 2026 for iShares MSCI USA ETF.
MLRG costs 0.46 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.3 points; COWG is 1.8 times larger.
| COWG | MLRG | |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.49% | 0.03% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 2, 2026 | $2.4bn | $1.3bn |
| Total return, 1 year | +12.2% | +15.5% |
| What it tracks | Pacer US Large Cap Cash Cows Growth Leaders Index | MSCI USA Index |
| Holdings in common | 13% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 28.4% | 37.8% |
| Below its high | 3.5%, high on Oct 9, 2026 | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 19, 2026.
COWG and MLRG are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. COWG follows Pacer US Large Cap Cash Cows Growth Leaders Index and MLRG follows MSCI USA Index.
- Holdings in common. 13% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 19, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 20, 2026 COWG returned +12.2% and MLRG +15.5% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 3.3 points.
Data as of Oct 20, 2026. The differences are picked by a fixed rule, in a fixed order; the PDF prints it. Page 2 has the returns, overlap, risks and sources.
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What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, COWG and MLRG hold 13% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 19, 2026.
half
13% in common
On the same fields
COWG and MLRG on the fields both publish, as of Oct 20, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
About COWG
COWG tracks an index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.49% a year. By its holdings filed for Jul 31, 2026, 65% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 100 positions, with the top ten at 28.4%. It sat 3.5% below its high of Oct 9, 2026 on Oct 20, 2026.
Over the year to Oct 20, 2026 it returned +12.2% with distributions reinvested, against +15.1% for its benchmark, the Russell 1000 Index.
About MLRG
MLRG tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 20, 2026 it returned +15.5% with distributions reinvested, against +15.4% for its benchmark, the MSCI USA Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 19, 2026, 96% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 515 positions, with the top ten at 37.8%.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, COWG or MLRG?
- In the year to Oct 20, 2026, with distributions reinvested, COWG returned +12.2% and MLRG +15.5%.
- Which is cheaper, COWG or MLRG?
- MLRG is cheaper, by 0.46 percentage points a year. That is about $46 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure; a link is not an endorsement. 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, COWG against MLRG, data as of Oct 20, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/cowg-vs-mlrg
ETFIQ. (Oct 20, 2026). COWG against MLRG. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/cowg-vs-mlrg
[COWG against MLRG (ETFIQ, Oct 20, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/cowg-vs-mlrg)
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