If You Hold This Growth ETF, You Are Losing Money

"IVW tracks the S&P 500 Growth Index, which screens the 500 large caps for sales growth, earnings change to price, and momentum, then weights them by market cap. Inception goes back to May 22, 2000, so this is one of the original style-box ETFs. The return engine is straightforward. You own the growth half of the S&P 500, tilted toward the names whose fundamentals have been accelerating fastest, and you ride whatever those companies do."

"In practice that means a portfolio dominated by mega-cap technology, with a roughly 14.6% weight to NVIDIA ( NASDAQ:NVDA) at the top. You are buying a concentrated AI bet wearing a diversified-index costume. That is fine if you understand it. The question is whether the wrapper earns its fee."

"Against plain vanilla S&P 500 exposure, the tilt has paid off recently. Over the past year, IVW returned 40% while the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust ( NYSEARCA:SPY) returned 31%. Stretch the window and the gap widens. Over five years, IVW gained 103% against SPY's 75%, and ten-year numbers come in at 415% versus 254%."

"The problem is what happens when you compare IVW to other funds running the same screen. The SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Growth ETF ( NYSEARCA:SPYG) returned 40% over one year, 104% over five, and 421% over ten. The Vanguard S&P 500"

IVW charges 0.18% annually to hold a basket of large-cap growth stocks. The fund tracks the S&P 500 Growth Index, which selects 500 companies using screens for sales growth, earnings change to price, and momentum, then weights holdings by market capitalization. The portfolio is dominated by mega-cap technology, with NVIDIA representing about 14.6% of the top weight, creating an AI-tilted concentration within a diversified wrapper. Recent performance has outpaced broad S&P 500 exposure, with strong one-, five-, and ten-year returns. However, similar growth-screen funds have delivered comparable or better results at lower cost, reducing the value of IVW’s fee premium.

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