If you're interested in broad exposure to the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market, look no further than the Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF (SCHG), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 12/11/2009.

The fund is sponsored by Charles Schwab. It has amassed assets over $39.13 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Growth

Large cap companies typically have a market capitalization above $10 billion. They tend to be stable companies with predictable cash flows and are usually less volatile than mid and small cap companies.

Growth stocks have higher than average sales and earnings growth rates. While these are expected to grow faster than the broader market, they also have higher valuations. Additionally, growth stocks have a greater level of risk associated with them. Even though growth stocks are more likely to outperform their value counterparts in strong bull markets, value stocks have a record of delivering better returns in almost all markets than growth stocks.

Costs

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts if all other fundamentals are the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.04%, making it the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.39%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector--about 47.30% of the portfolio. Telecom and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL) accounts for about 12.58% of total assets, followed by Nvidia Corp (NVDA) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT).

The top 10 holdings account for about 61.9% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

SCHG seeks to match the performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Large-Cap Growth Total Stock Market Index before fees and expenses. The Dow Jones U.S. Large-Cap Growth Total Stock Market Index is float-adjusted market-capitalization weighted and includes the large-cap growth portion of the Dow Jones U.S. Total Stock Market Index.

The ETF return is roughly 2.51% so far this year and it's up approximately 26.84% in the last one year (as of 02/12/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $21.76 and $29.10.

The ETF has a beta of 1.10 and standard deviation of 22.83% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 228 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, SCHG is an excellent option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG) and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ) track a similar index. While Vanguard Growth ETF has $161.15 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $331.98 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.04% and QQQ charges 0.20%.

Bottom-Line

Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are excellent vehicles for long term investors.

To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.

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Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF (SCHG): ETF Research Reports

Apple Inc. (AAPL) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) : Free Stock Analysis Report

NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Invesco QQQ (QQQ): ETF Research Reports

Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG): ETF Research Reports

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