FTC vs VO: Differences, Returns & Fees
FTC and VO hold 28% of their weight in the same names, and VO returned +12.4% over the year. Net assets: $1.3bn on Oct 20, 2026 for First Trust Large Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund, and $103.4bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Morningstar Mid-Cap ETF.
VO costs 0.55 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 4.5 points.
| FTC | VO | |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.58% | 0.03% |
| Net assets, FTC as of Oct 20, 2026 and VO as of Sep 30, 2026 | $1.3bn | $103.4bn |
| Total return, 1 year | +7.9% | +12.4% |
| What it tracks | Nasdaq AlphaDEX Large Cap Growth Index | Morningstar US Mid Cap Index (formerly CRSP US Mid Cap Index) |
| Holdings in common | 28% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 9.6% | 9.7% |
| Below its high | 10.5%, high on Jun 22, 2026 | 3.8%, high on Aug 14, 2026 |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 19, 2026.
FTC and VO are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. FTC follows Nasdaq AlphaDEX Large Cap Growth Index and VO follows Morningstar US Mid Cap Index (formerly CRSP US Mid Cap Index).
- Holdings in common. 28% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 19, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 20, 2026 FTC returned +7.9% and VO +12.4% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 4.5 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, FTC and VO hold 28% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 19, 2026.
half
28% in common
On the same fields
FTC and VO on the fields both publish, as of Oct 20, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
About FTC
FTC tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 20, 2026 it returned +7.9% with distributions reinvested, against +15.8% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.58% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 19, 2026, 75% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 187 positions, with the top ten at 9.6%. It sat 10.5% below its high of Jun 22, 2026 on Oct 20, 2026.
About VO
VO tracks an index of Mid-Cap. Over the year to Oct 20, 2026 it returned +12.4% 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 3.8% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 20, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, FTC or VO?
- In the year to Oct 20, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FTC returned +7.9% and VO +12.4%.
- Which is cheaper, FTC or VO?
- VO is cheaper, by 0.55 percentage points a year. That is about $55 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.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown
ETFIQ, FTC against VO, data as of Oct 20, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ftc-vs-vo
ETFIQ. (Oct 20, 2026). FTC against VO. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ftc-vs-vo
[FTC against VO (ETFIQ, Oct 20, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ftc-vs-vo)
Free to use with attribution for figures ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.