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Investors looking to build wealth over time can turn to growth exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) for their many benefits. Whether you’re a beginning investor or more advanced, the best growth ETFs can deliver attractive returns and make it easy for anyone to invest successfully in the stock market.
The best growth ETFs offer investors many advantages, including the following:
- A track record of high annual returns
- A diversified portfolio of stocks, thereby reducing your risk
- Returns that outperform the bellwether S&P 500 Index
- Easy to research and invest in, without having to do heavy analysis
- May pay a small and growing cash dividend
Top Growth ETFs to Invest in for 2026
Below are some of the best-performing growth ETFs, including their average long-term annual returns.
| Fund | 5-year annualized return | 10-year annualized return |
| Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) | 15.8% | 21.9% |
| iShares Russell Top 200 Growth (IWY) | 14.0% | 19.3% |
| Fidelity Nasdaq Composite Index (ONEQ) | 13.0% | 19.4% |
| Vanguard Mega Cap Growth Index Fund (MGK) | 13.5% | 18.8% |
| Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth (SCHG) | 13.2% | 18.6% |
| Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth Index Fund (VONG) | 12.8% | 18.3% |
| iShares Russell 1000 Growth (IWF) | 12.8% | 18.2% |
| Vanguard Growth Index Fund (VUG) | 12.4% | 17.9% |
| Fidelity Enhanced Large Cap Growth (FELG) | 13.3% | 17.9% |
| State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Growth (SPYG) | 13.9% | 18.0% |
| Vanguard S&P 500 Growth Index Fund (VOOG) | 13.9% | 17.9% |
Source: Morningstar, as of June 29, 2026
These funds have outstanding long-term returns and charge a low expense ratio, which is the fund’s annual cost as a percentage of your investment. The highest-cost fund here charges just 0.21%, or $21 annually, for every $10,000 invested. Many funds here are even cheaper.
The fund’s long-term performance is your best predictor of how the fund may perform in the future. Of course, past performance is no guarantee of future returns, but these results indicate what the fund could possibly return.
How Marketwise Selected These Funds
Marketwise chose its top funds based on the following factors:
- Broad-based funds categorized as growth, according to Morningstar
- Returns that beat the S&P 500’s long-term average annual gain of 10%
- An expense ratio below 0.3%
- Assets under management of at least $1 billion
Below are the details on these top growth ETFs, including their strategy and a few of their largest holdings. Note that these funds hold many of the same largest positions.
1. Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ)
This fund tracks the Nasdaq 100 Index, which includes the world’s largest tech stocks. So, a stock must be part of that index to qualify for this fund.
The largest holdings include Nvidia (NVDA), Apple (AAPL), Micron (MU), Microsoft (MSFT), and Amazon (AMZN).
Expense ratio: 0.18%
Assets under management: $476.2 billion
2. iShares Russell Top 200 Growth Index Fund (IWY)
This index ETF tracks the Russell Top 200 Growth Index, which includes stocks in the Russell 200 Index with higher valuations and higher expected growth, relative to all stocks in that index.
Top holdings include Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Broadcom (AVG), and Amazon.
Expense ratio: 0.20%
Assets under management: $17.2 billion
3. Fidelity Nasdaq Composite Index Fund (ONEQ)
This index ETF tracks the Nasdaq Composite Index, which includes stocks trading on the Nasdaq, namely some of the world’s largest tech stocks.
This fund’s largest holdings include Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet Class A (GOOGL).
Expense ratio: 0.21%
Assets under management: $10.3 billion
4. Vanguard Mega Cap Growth Index Fund (MGK)
This index fund tracks the CRSP U.S. Mega Cap Growth Index, which includes the largest stocks by market capitalization – the mega caps – trading on U.S. exchanges.
Its portfolio consists of around 60 stocks, and the largest positions include Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet Class A, and Broadcom.
Expense ratio: 0.05%
Assets under management: $35.0 billion
5. Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth (SCHG)
This index fund tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Large-Cap Growth Total Stock Market Index, which includes large-cap U.S. stocks that show characteristics such as high sales growth.
The fund’s most important positions include Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet Class A.
Expense ratio: 0.04%
Assets under management: $57.5 billion
6. Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth Index Fund (VONG)
This index fund tracks the Russell 1000 Growth Index, which includes large-cap stocks in the Russell 1000 Index that exhibit greater growth relative to all stocks in the index.
This Vanguard fund’s top stakes include Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet Class A.
Expense ratio: 0.06%
Assets under management: $54.8 billion
7. iShares Russell 1000 Growth (IWF)
This iShares index fund tracks the Russell 100 Growth Index, which includes large-cap and mid-cap stocks in the Russell 100 Index with higher valuations and higher expected growth, relative to all stocks in the index.
This fund’s top holdings include Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Broadcom, and Amazon.
Expense ratio: 0.18%
Assets under management: $129.6 billion
8. Vanguard Growth Index Fund (VUG)
This ultra-low-cost index fund tracks the CRSP U.S. Large Cap Growth Index, which includes large-cap stocks trading on American exchanges.
The fund’s top positions include Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet Class A, and Broadcom.
Expense ratio: 0.03%
Assets under management: $393.8 billion
9. Fidelity Enhanced Large Cap Growth Fund (FELG)
This fund tracks the Russell 1000 Growth Index, which includes large-cap stocks in the Russell 1000 Index that show more growth characteristics than other stocks in the index.
The Fidelity fund’s largest stakes include Nvidia, Apple, Alphabet Class A, Broadcom, and Microsoft.
Expense ratio: 0.18%
Assets under management: $5.9 billion
10. State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Growth Fund (SPYG)
This index fund tracks the S&P 500 Growth Index, which includes stocks in the S&P 500 Index that show the strongest sales growth, earnings change-to-price ratio, and momentum.
The fund’s biggest positions include Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet Class A, and Broadcom.
Expense ratio: 0.04%
Assets under management: $51.2 billion
11. Vanguard S&P 500 Growth Index Fund (VOOG)
This Vanguard index fund tracks the S&P 500 Growth Index, which includes stocks in the S&P 500 Index scoring highest for traits such as sales growth, price momentum, and the ratio of price to earnings growth.
The fund’s largest positions include Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet Class A, and Broadcom.
Expense ratio: 0.07%
Assets under management: $26.5 billion
Growth ETFs vs. Dividend ETFs
Growth ETFs invest in equities classified as growth stocks. These stocks show the characteristics of growth companies to a greater degree than other stocks. These traits include high sales growth, high earnings growth, a high valuation (such as a high price-to-earnings ratio), or strong price momentum.
In contrast, dividend ETFs include slower-growing dividend stocks that operate in more established markets, so they don’t need to invest as much. This setup means these stocks have more money to pay out to investors as dividends. But they’re growing at a slower pace, so their overall return tends to be lower than that of growth stocks.
Growth stocks tend to be more volatile than the average stock and even more so than the average dividend stock. Growth stocks usually represent faster-growing segments of the market that are priced for higher expectations. If those expectations are met, the stock may zoom higher. If they’re not, the stock may often plunge.
It’s this set of built-in expectations that helps create the higher volatility of growth stocks. In contrast, the best dividend ETFs tend to be much less volatile… and pay higher dividends.
That said, some growth stocks may pay dividends, but these cash payouts tend to be much lower than those of well-known dividend stocks.
How to Invest in Growth ETFs
Here are some tips for investing safely in growth ETFs and what you need to watch out for:
- Passive funds do well: All the funds listed above are passive funds. That is, they track an established index mechanically rather than paying an expensive group of analysts to manage an active portfolio. Research shows that passive funds tend to outperform active funds, so it can make a lot of sense to go with an index fund. Plus, passively invested index funds are usually lower-cost than actively managed funds.
- Look for a low expense ratio: The expense ratio is the fee you pay to the fund company for managing the fund. The lower this number, the better for you. Every dollar that doesn’t go to the fund company can continue to compound in the fund. An expense ratio below 0.5% is good, but many of the best index funds are even lower-cost. For example, many of the funds in the list above charge less than 0.1%. At a 0.1% expense ratio, you’ll pay just $10 annually for every $10,000 invested in the fund.
- Find broad-based funds: The funds above cut across industries, even if they have some concentration in tech stocks. This broader diversification reduces your risk, since stocks across different industries will respond differently to the economic cycle. While some stocks zig, others zag. This diversification smoothens your returns, too.
- Analyze the fund’s long-term record: To see what your fund might return over time, look at the long-term track record, such as five-year and 10-year returns. Those will give you a better gauge for how a fund will perform than its one-year performance.
- Watch out for the year’s hottest funds: The best-performing funds each year usually don’t stick around. Many investors look at only recent returns and rush in to buy. But the fund has already run up and can’t repeat the great performance again the next year. Instead, stick to funds with strong performances year after year.
One of the best things about ETFs is the ability to build wealth over time without needing to do the heavy analysis that’s required to invest in individual stocks. Literally anyone can use ETFs to build wealth, and legendary investor Warren Buffett has long advised investors to adopt a long-term buy-and-hold approach with index funds.
Regards,
James Royal, PhD
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