Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
IWF vs VPU: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IWF returned +0.9% to VPU's −3.3%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $124.7bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF, and $7.7bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Utilities ETF.
Pair scorecard
VPU costs 0.09 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 4.2 points; IWF is 16.6 times larger.
| Measure | IWF | VPU |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +0.9% | −3.3% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 4.8%, high on Oct 6, 2026 | 8.9%, high on Feb 27, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Russell 1000 Growth Index | MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Utilities 25/50 |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.18% | 0.09% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $127.7bn | $7.7bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 57.5% | 52.3% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Feb 6, 2004 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,185 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: IWF against VONG, Oct 1, 2010 to Oct 23, 2026; VPU against FUTY, Nov 1, 2013 to Oct 23, 2026.
IWF returned more: +1,167.4% to +683.7%. VPU swung slightly less: 17.6% to 18.3%. VPU fell less at its worst: −44.9% to −50.4%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | IWF | VPU | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +1,167.4% | +683.7% | IWF | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +11.8% | +9.5% | IWF | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +890.8% | +273.2% | IWF | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 18.3% | 17.6% | VPU (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 12.6% | 12.5% | Tie | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −50.4% | −44.9% | VPU | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 99.8% | 100.2% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 100.1% | 100.1% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 1.00 | 1.00 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 1.00 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.60 | 0.50 | IWF | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.87 | 0.70 | IWF | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.149 | 0.087 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.23 | 0.21 | IWF | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | VONG | FUTY | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | −0.1% a year | 0.0% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −0.58 | −0.21 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −0.6% to +0.3% | −0.4% to +0.3% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | −0.11 | 0.00 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 1.0% | 0.6% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,185 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, IWF and VPU hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
0% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
IWF and VPU on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
IWF and VPU do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. IWF follows Russell 1000 Growth Index and VPU follows MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Utilities 25/50.
- Holdings in common. 0% 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 IWF returned +0.9% and VPU −3.3% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 4.2 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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IWF
IWF tracks the Russell 1000 growth. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +0.9% with distributions reinvested, against +1.1% for its benchmark, the Russell 1000 Growth Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.18% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 94% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 374 positions, with the top ten at 57.5%. It sat 4.8% below its high of Oct 6, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
VPU
VPU tracks an index of Utilities. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −3.3% with distributions reinvested, against −3.3% for its benchmark, the MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Utilities 25/50. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 90% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 70 positions, with the top ten at 52.3%. It sat 8.9% below its high of Feb 27, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, IWF or VPU?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IWF returned +0.9% and VPU −3.3%.
- Which is cheaper, IWF or VPU?
- VPU is cheaper, by 0.09 percentage points a year. That is about $9 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, IWF against VPU, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iwf-vs-vpu
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[IWF against VPU (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iwf-vs-vpu)
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