Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
COWZ vs VO: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, COWZ returned +24.4% to VO's +12.8%; 19% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $19.5bn on Oct 27, 2026 for Pacer US Cash Cows 100 ETF, and $103.4bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Morningstar Mid-Cap ETF.
Pair scorecard
VO costs 0.46 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 11.6 points.
| Measure | COWZ | VO |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +24.4% | +12.8% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 3.1%, high on Aug 14, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Pacer US Cash Cows 100 Index | Morningstar US Mid Cap Index (formerly CRSP US Mid Cap Index) |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.49% | 0.03% |
| Net assets, COWZ as of Oct 27, 2026 and VO as of Sep 30, 2026 | $19.5bn | $103.4bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 19% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 20.4% | 9.7% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Dec 30, 2016 to Oct 23, 2026 · 512 weekly returnsCOWZ returned more: +251.9% to +185.1%. VO swung slightly less: 19.0% to 19.6%. COWZ fell slightly less at its worst: −36.3% to −37.4%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | COWZ | VO | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +251.9% | +185.1% | COWZ | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +13.6% | +11.2% | COWZ | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +188.5% | +145.4% | COWZ | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 19.6% | 19.0% | VO (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 13.8% | 13.3% | VO (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −36.3% | −37.4% | COWZ (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.62 | 0.52 | COWZ | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.89 | 0.75 | COWZ | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.38 | 0.30 | COWZ | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 512 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, COWZ and VO hold 19% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026.
half
19% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
COWZ and VO on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
COWZ and VO do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. COWZ follows Pacer US Cash Cows 100 Index and VO follows Morningstar US Mid Cap Index (formerly CRSP US Mid Cap Index).
- Holdings in common. 19% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 COWZ returned +24.4% and VO +12.8% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 11.6 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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COWZ
COWZ tracks an index of US Cash Cows 100. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +24.4% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.49% a year. By its holdings filed for Jul 31, 2026, 95% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 100 positions, with the top ten at 20.4%.
VO
VO tracks an index of Mid-Cap. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +12.8% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 91% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 273 positions, with the top ten at 9.7%. It sat 3.1% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, COWZ or VO?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, COWZ returned +24.4% and VO +12.8%.
- Which is cheaper, COWZ or VO?
- VO 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.
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.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown
ETFIQ, COWZ against VO, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/cowz-vs-vo
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). COWZ against VO. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/cowz-vs-vo
[COWZ against VO (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/cowz-vs-vo)
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