IVW vs. VT: What’s The Difference?

The iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF (IVW) and the Vanguard Total World Stock Index Fund ETF Shares (VT) are both among the Top 100 ETFs. IVW is a iShares Large Growth fund and VT is a Vanguard N/A fund. So, what’s the difference between IVW and VT? And which fund is better?

The expense ratio of IVW is 0.10 percentage points higher than VT’s (0.18% vs. 0.08%). IVW also has a higher exposure to the technology sector and a lower standard deviation. Overall, IVW has provided higher returns than VT over the past ten years.

In this article, we’ll compare IVW vs. VT. We’ll look at industry exposure and holdings, as well as at their fund composition and annual returns. Moreover, I’ll also discuss IVW’s and VT’s portfolio growth, performance, and risk metrics and examine how these affect their overall returns.

Summary

The iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF (IVW) is a Large Growth fund that is issued by iShares. It currently has 35.72B total assets under management and has yielded an average annual return of 16.74% over the past 10 years. The fund has a dividend yield of 0.61% with an expense ratio of 0.18%.

The Vanguard Total World Stock Index Fund ETF Shares (VT) is a N/A fund that is issued by Vanguard. It currently has 30.44B total assets under management and has yielded an average annual return of 10.42% over the past 10 years. The fund has a dividend yield of 1.65% with an expense ratio of 0.08%.

Fund Composition

Industry Exposure

The iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF (IVW) has the most exposure to the Technology sector at 37.8%. This is followed by Communication Services and Consumer Cyclical at 15.44% and 15.25% respectively. Utilities (0.47%), Real Estate (1.11%), and Basic Materials (1.65%) only make up 3.23% of the fund’s total assets.

IVW’s mid-section with moderate exposure is comprised of Consumer Defensive, Industrials, Financial Services, Healthcare, and Consumer Cyclical stocks at 3.84%, 5.72%, 6.78%, 11.88%, and 15.25%.

The Vanguard Total World Stock Index Fund ETF Shares (VT) has the most exposure to the Technology sector at 19.63%. This is followed by Financial Services and Consumer Cyclical at 15.36% and 12.32% respectively. Energy (3.48%), Real Estate (3.64%), and Basic Materials (4.97%) only make up 12.09% of the fund’s total assets.

VT’s mid-section with moderate exposure is comprised of Consumer Defensive, Communication Services, Industrials, Healthcare, and Consumer Cyclical stocks at 6.71%, 9.02%, 10.7%, 11.58%, and 12.32%.

Holdings

IVW’s Top Holdings are Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp, Amazon.com Inc, Facebook Inc Class A, and Alphabet Inc Class A at 11.46%, 10.75%, 7.14%, 4.28%, and 4.06%.

Alphabet Inc Class C (3.86%), Tesla Inc (2.65%), and NVIDIA Corp (2.43%) have a slightly smaller but still significant weight. PayPal Holdings Inc and Adobe Inc are also represented in the IVW’s holdings at 1.62% and 1.49%.

VT’s Top Holdings are Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp, Amazon.com Inc, Facebook Inc Class A, and Alphabet Inc Class A at 2.85%, 2.71%, 1.98%, 1.1%, and 0.97%.

Alphabet Inc Class C (0.95%), Tesla Inc (0.7%), and NVIDIA Corp (0.64%) have a slightly smaller but still significant weight. JPMorgan Chase & Co and Tencent Holdings Ltd are also represented in the VT’s holdings at 0.62% and 0.6%.

Risk Analysis

The iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF (IVW) has a Beta of 0.98 with a Alpha of 2.19 and a Sharpe Ratio of 1.21. Its Treynor Ratio is 17.24 while IVW’s Mean Return is 1.44. Furthermore, the fund has a Standard Deviation of 13.77 and a R-squared of 93.82.

The Vanguard Total World Stock Index Fund ETF Shares (VT) has a Beta of 1.01 with a Sharpe Ratio of 0.71 and a Alpha of 0.2. Its Mean Return is 0.9 while VT’s Treynor Ratio is 9.5. Furthermore, the fund has a Standard Deviation of 14.19 and a R-squared of 99.35.

Performance

Annual Returns

IVW had its best year in 2020 with an annual return of 33.21%. IVW’s worst year over the past decade yielded -0.17% and occurred in 2018. In most years the iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF provided moderate returns such as in 2012, 2014, and 2010 where annual returns amounted to 14.39%, 14.67%, and 14.84% respectively.

The year 2019 was the strongest year for VT, returning 26.8% on an annual basis. The poorest year for VT in the last ten years was 2018, with a yield of -9.67%. Most years the Vanguard Total World Stock Index Fund ETF Shares has given investors modest returns, such as in 2016, 2010, and 2020, when gains were 8.77%, 13.05%, and 16.74% respectively.

Portfolio Growth

A $10,000 investment in IVW would have resulted in a final balance of $51,915. This is a profit of $41,915 over 11 years and amounts to a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.74%.

With a $10,000 investment in VT, the end total would have been $27,739. This equates to a $17,739 profit over 11 years and a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.42%.