$482 separates the five-year terminal values: Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth ETF (NASDAQ: VONG) grew a $1,000 stake to $1,742 over the trailing five years, while Invesco S&P SmallCap 600 Revenue ETF (NYSEMKT: RZG) reached $1,260. The trailing-12-month picture inverts that order, with RZG posting 22.3% total return against VONG's 6.9% as of September 10, 2026, a 15.4-percentage-point spread in the small-cap fund's favor.
The cost gap is 29 basis points. VONG charges 0.06% annually; RZG runs at 0.35%. Both funds pay a 0.5% trailing yield: VONG distributed $0.58 per share on its September 10 price of $124.84, and RZG paid $0.30 on its $65.17. Income is a draw. Scale is not. VONG holds $45.9 billion in assets; RZG manages $122.7 million.
Construction and concentration
VONG tracks the Russell 1000 Growth Index on a market-cap basis. Technology sits at 68% of the portfolio, communication services at 17%. Nvidia is the largest position at 15.5%, followed by Alphabet at 10.72% and Apple at 7.5%. RZG takes a different path: it invests at least 90% of assets in a revenue-weighted slice of the S&P SmallCap 600 Index, sizing positions by a growth score built on sales growth, earnings-change-to-price ratio, and momentum. Its 127 holdings are capped at 2.1% for top name ACM Research; Protagonist Therapeutics and Dave each sit at 2.01%. Sector leadership is healthcare at 23%, with industrials and financial services each at 17%.
| Metric | RZG | VONG |
|---|---|---|
| Share price (9/10/26, reported) | $65.17 | $124.84 |
| Expense ratio | 0.35% | 0.06% |
| 1-yr return (reported) | 22.3% | 6.9% |
| Beta | 1.02 | 1.21 |
| Max drawdown, 5 yr (reported) | (38.3%) | (32.7%) |
| $1,000 grown over 5 yr (reported) | $1,260 | $1,742 |
| AUM | $122.7M | $45.9B |
| Dividend yield, TTM | 0.5% | 0.5% |
Beta cuts against the intuitive read. RZG's 1.02 measures below VONG's 1.21 relative to the S&P 500, yet RZG's five-year maximum drawdown was 38.3% against VONG's 32.7%. Lower measured volatility, deeper peak-to-trough loss.
An investor who already holds VONG's top three names through an S&P 500 fund or individual positions gets no differentiation from the Vanguard fund at the margin. RZG's revenue-weighted small-cap structure carries no overlap with those mega-cap names. The one-year tape favors RZG; the five-year compound favors VONG; the fee meter runs 29 basis points harder annually for the Invesco fund.