PWRD vs VUG: Differences, Returns & Fees

PWRD and VUG hold 9% of their weight in the same names, and VUG returned +10.2% over the year. Net assets: $1.5bn on Jul 31, 2026 for TCW Transform Systems ETF, and $232.9bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Morningstar Growth ETF.

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VUG costs 0.72 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 11.4 points.

PWRD vs VUG: Differences, Returns & Fees
PWRDVUG
Expense ratio0.75%0.03%
Net assets, PWRD as of Jul 31, 2026 and VUG as of Sep 30, 2026$1.5bn$232.9bn
Total return, 1 year−1.2%+10.2%
What it tracksNo index, actively managedMorningstar US Large Cap Growth Index
Holdings in common9%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund52.0%63.1%
Below its high20.1%, high on Jun 30, 20264.3%, high on Oct 6, 2026

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026.

−1.2%
PWRD total return, 1 year
+10.2%
VUG total return, 1 year
0.75%
PWRD expense ratio
0.03%
VUG expense ratio

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Client brief · page 1 of 2Report BR-61596EA07A

PWRD and VUG are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?

  1. What each follows. PWRD follows No index, actively managed and VUG follows Morningstar US Large Cap Growth Index.
  2. Holdings in common. 9% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026).
  3. One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 20, 2026 PWRD returned −1.2% and VUG +10.2% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 11.4 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, PWRD and VUG hold 9% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026.

half

9% in common

Positions both hold, largest shared weight first
Holding PWRD VUG
BROADCOM INC 4.22% 4.34%
APPLIED MATERIALS INC 5.42% 1.10%
KLA CORP 4.29% 0.70%
GE VERNOVA INC 3.51% 0.69%
ARISTA NETWORKS INC 4.05% 0.60%
GENERAL ELECTRIC 10.15% 0.45%
QUANTA SERVICES INC 3.22% 0.28%
VERTIV HOLDINGS CO-A 4.94% 0.27%
BLOOM ENERGY CORP- A 3.44% 0.23%
COMFORT SYSTEMS USA INC 1.81% 0.18%
FIRST SOLAR INC 1.24% 0.05%
VENTURE GLOBAL INC-CL A 5.25% 0.03%
Only in PWRD
SAFRAN SA /EUR 5.56%
AIRBUS SE /EUR 4.12%
POWELL INDUSTRIES INC 4.03%
UNION PACIFIC CORP 4.03%
EXXONMOBIL HOLDINGS CORP 3.12%
TRANE TECHNOLOGIES PLC 2.98%
TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR-SP ADR 2.88%
QNITY ELECTRONICS INC 2.76%
Only in VUG
NVIDIA Corp 13.49%
Apple Inc 12.51%
Microsoft Corp 9.74%
Alphabet Inc 5.16%
Amazon.com Inc 4.26%
Meta Platforms Inc 4.23%
Alphabet Inc 4.09%
Advanced Micro Devices Inc 2.66%

Check overlap with more funds →

On the same fields

PWRD
TCW Transform Systems ETF
VUG
Vanguard Morningstar Growth ETF
Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF
Issuer TCW Vanguard
What it is Actively managed Tracks an index of US growth
Total return, 1 year −1.2% +10.2%
Expense ratio 0.75% 0.03%
Already in the S&P 500 57.0% 97.3%
Holdings 31 137
Net assets, PWRD as of Jul 31, 2026 and VUG as of Sep 30, 2026 $1.5bn $232.9bn

PWRD and VUG on the fields both publish, as of Oct 20, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

About PWRD

PWRD is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 20, 2026 it returned −1.2% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.75% a year. By its holdings filed for Jul 31, 2026, 57% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 31 positions, with the top ten at 52.0%. It sat 20.1% below its high of Jun 30, 2026 on Oct 20, 2026.

About VUG

VUG tracks an index of US growth. Over the year to Oct 20, 2026 it returned +10.2% 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 4.3% below its high of Oct 6, 2026 on Oct 20, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, PWRD or VUG?
In the year to Oct 20, 2026, with distributions reinvested, PWRD returned −1.2% and VUG +10.2%.
Which is cheaper, PWRD or VUG?
VUG is cheaper, by 0.72 percentage points a year. That is about $72 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do PWRD and VUG overlap with the S&P 500?
By their latest filed holdings, 57% of PWRD and 97% of VUG by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.
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ETFIQ, PWRD against VUG, data as of Oct 20, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/pwrd-vs-vug

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Free to use with attribution for figures ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.