Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
VTWO vs XLG: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, VTWO returned +14.3% to XLG's +6.4%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $16.6bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Russell 2000 ETF, and $11.9bn on Oct 27, 2026 for Invesco S&P 500 Top 50 ETF.
Pair scorecard
VTWO costs 0.14 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 7.9 points.
| Measure | VTWO | XLG |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +14.3% | +6.4% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 7.5%, high on Aug 14, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Russell 2000 Index | S&P 500 Top 50 Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.06% | 0.20% |
| Net assets, VTWO as of Sep 30, 2026 and XLG as of Oct 27, 2026 | $16.6bn | $11.9bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 5.4% | 60.3% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Oct 1, 2010 to Oct 23, 2026 · 838 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: VTWO against IWM, Oct 1, 2010 to Oct 23, 2026; XLG against IVV, May 20, 2005 to Oct 23, 2026.
XLG returned more: +881.7% to +409.2%. XLG swung less: 16.2% to 21.0%. XLG fell less at its worst: −28.7% to −40.2%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | VTWO | XLG | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +409.2% | +881.7% | XLG | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +10.6% | +15.2% | XLG | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +315.9% | +654.2% | XLG | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 21.0% | 16.2% | XLG | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 14.5% | 10.9% | XLG | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −40.2% | −28.7% | XLG | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 98.8% | 97.7% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 99.5% | 98.5% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 0.99 | 0.95 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 1.00 | 0.95 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.51 | 0.86 | XLG | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.74 | 1.27 | XLG | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.108 | 0.108 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.26 | 0.53 | XLG | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | IWM | IVV | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | +0.1% a year | +0.5% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | 0.46 | 0.68 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −0.4% to +0.6% | −1.0% to +2.1% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | 0.02 | 0.02 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 1.0% | 3.8% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 838 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, VTWO and XLG 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
VTWO and XLG on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
VTWO and XLG do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. VTWO follows Russell 2000 Index and XLG follows S&P 500 Top 50 Index.
- Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 VTWO returned +14.3% and XLG +6.4% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 7.9 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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VTWO
VTWO tracks the Russell 2000. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +14.3% with distributions reinvested, against +14.1% for its benchmark, the Russell 2000 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.06% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 2,002 positions, with the top ten at 5.4%. It sat 7.5% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
XLG
XLG tracks the S&P 500 top 50. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +6.4% with distributions reinvested, against +13.7% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.20% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 98% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 53 positions, with the top ten at 60.3%.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, VTWO or XLG?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, VTWO returned +14.3% and XLG +6.4%.
- Which is cheaper, VTWO or XLG?
- VTWO is cheaper, by 0.14 percentage points a year. That is about $14 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, VTWO against XLG, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vtwo-vs-xlg
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). VTWO against XLG. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vtwo-vs-xlg
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