ETFs / VUG
What If You Had Invested in VUG 10 Years Ago?
Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG) with real monthly prices, dividends reinvested, through November 2026.
VUG $81.43 ▼ -5.47% last close, Nov 05, 2026
If you had invested $1,000 in VUG in November 2016, today it would be worth
$4,777
Same $1,000 in the S&P 500 (SPY): $3,895
If you had put $500 a month into VUG since November 2016, your $60,500 would be worth today
$138,162
Same plan in the S&P 500 (SPY): $128,888
More options in the What If calculator.
VUG live price chart
VUG returns by period
| Period | Total return | Per year | $1,000 became | SPY per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 28, 2026 | $0.0910 | -1.1% | ||
| Jun 26, 2026 | $0.0920 | +15.4% | ||
| Mar 27, 2026 | $0.0797 | -4.2% | ||
| Dec 22, 2025 | $0.0832 | -1.5% | ||
| Sep 29, 2025 | $0.0845 | +0.6% | ||
| Jun 30, 2025 | $0.0840 | +0.8% | ||
| Mar 27, 2025 | $0.0833 | -6.4% | ||
| Dec 23, 2024 | $0.0890 | +17.4% | ||
| Sep 26, 2024 | $0.0758 | -0.3% | ||
| Jun 27, 2024 | $0.0760 | -2.6% | ||
| Mar 21, 2024 | $0.0780 | -20.0% | ||
| Dec 21, 2023 | $0.0975 | — |
VUG year by year
Best full year: 2023 (+46.8%). Worst: 2008 (-38.0%).
| Year | VUG | SPY | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (so far) | +0.5% | +8.3% | |
| 2025 | +19.4% | +17.7% | |
| 2024 | +32.7% | +24.9% | |
| 2023 | +46.8% | +26.2% | |
| 2022 | -33.2% | -18.2% | Rising interest rates hit growth stocks hardest. |
| 2021 | +27.3% | +28.7% | |
| 2020 | +40.2% | +18.3% | Large technology and internet companies led the market during the pandemic. |
| 2019 | +37.0% | +31.2% | |
| 2018 | -3.3% | -4.6% | |
| 2017 | +27.7% | +21.7% | |
| 2016 | +6.3% | +12.0% | |
| 2015 | +3.2% | +1.2% | |
| 2014 | +13.6% | +13.5% | |
| 2013 | +32.5% | +32.3% | |
| 2012 | +17.0% | +16.0% | |
| 2011 | +1.8% | +1.9% | |
| 2010 | +17.2% | +15.1% | |
| 2009 | +36.1% | +26.4% | |
| 2008 | -38.0% | -36.8% | The global financial crisis. Bank failures and a deep recession made this one of the worst years for stocks since the 1930s. |
| 2007 | +12.5% | +5.1% |
VUG: all at once or every month?
Take $12,000: all of it on day one, or $1,000 a month for a year. Across every starting month since 2004 (263 of them), the lump sum was ahead after 12 months in 213 (81%). That is lopsided: for VUG, waiting to invest has usually cost money. The best case for monthly investing was a start in May 2008, when it finished the year 40% ahead.
Worst drop
VUG's worst fall in this history was -47.2%, a deep bear-market fall, from October 2007 to February 2009. Getting back to the old high took until February 2011: 24 months from the bottom and 3.3 years from the peak. $1,000 invested at that peak shrank to about $528 at the low.
VUG dividends
VUG paid $0.35 per share over the last 12 months, quarterly. At $81.43 that is 0.42%, a small yield; nearly all of the return has come from the price. From 2020 to 2025 the yearly payout grew +3.6% a year, steadily. The yearly total fell in 2020, 2021. Amounts are adjusted for splits.
| Year | Dividends / share | Change | Yield |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $0.34 | +5.1% | 0.41% |
| 2024 | $0.32 | +6.1% | 0.47% |
| 2023 | $0.30 | +20.1% | 0.58% |
| 2022 | $0.25 | -2.6% | 0.70% |
| 2021 | $0.26 | -8.5% | 0.48% |
| 2020 | $0.28 | -3.1% | 0.66% |
| 2019 | $0.29 | -1.9% | 0.95% |
| 2018 | $0.30 | +10.3% | 1.32% |
| 2017 | $0.27 | +3.8% | 1.14% |
| 2016 | $0.26 | +11.5% | 1.39% |
Yield = each year’s dividends divided by the price at the end of the year.
VUG dividend history: last 12 payments
| Ex-dividend date | Amount | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 28, 2026 | $0.0910 | -1.1% |
| Jun 26, 2026 | $0.0920 | +15.4% |
| Mar 27, 2026 | $0.0797 | -4.2% |
| Dec 22, 2025 | $0.0832 | -1.5% |
| Sep 29, 2025 | $0.0845 | +0.6% |
| Jun 30, 2025 | $0.0840 | +0.8% |
| Mar 27, 2025 | $0.0833 | -6.4% |
| Dec 23, 2024 | $0.0890 | +17.4% |
| Sep 26, 2024 | $0.0758 | -0.3% |
| Jun 27, 2024 | $0.0760 | -2.6% |
| Mar 21, 2024 | $0.0780 | -20.0% |
| Dec 21, 2023 | $0.0975 | — |
Stock splits
- April 2026: 6-for-1
About VUG
| Issuer | Vanguard |
| Launched | January 2004 |
| Tracks | CRSP US Large Cap Growth |
| Expense ratio | 0.04% |
| Holdings | About 160 large U.S. growth companies |
Fund details as of 2025. Check the issuer for the current expense ratio and holdings.
VUG holds the faster-growing half of large U.S. companies, picked by measures such as earnings and sales growth. In practice it is dominated by the largest technology and internet companies.
Growth funds like VUG tend to shine when interest rates are low and fall harder when rates rise, because more of their value depends on profits expected far in the future.
VUG, SCHG or QQQ?
All three lean heavily on the same handful of giant technology companies, so they often move together. The differences are in the edges. VUG and SCHG draw from the whole U.S. large-cap market, so they can hold growth companies listed on the NYSE, such as Visa or Eli Lilly, which QQQ cannot. QQQ excludes financial companies but includes slower-growing Nasdaq names such as PepsiCo and Costco that a growth screen would leave out. VUG also costs a fraction of QQQ's fee.
Questions about VUG
How much would $10,000 invested in VUG 20 years ago be worth today?
About $103,391 with dividends reinvested, invested at the November 2006 close: 933.9% in total, or 12.4% a year.
When does VUG pay dividends?
In the last 12 months the payments went out in March, June, September and December, $0.35 per share in total.
Did VUG beat the S&P 500?
Yes. Over the last 20 years it was ahead by 1.8 percentage points a year: +12.4% a year for VUG against +10.6% for SPY, dividends reinvested. Its worst fall was about the same as SPY's.