It’s been a bumpy start to 2026 for development investing. Key growth benchmarks are down in the low single digits year-to-date, and some of the biggest names in tech have retreated meaningfully from their highs in late 2025. For investors with a multi-year horizon, that type of consolidation makes sense in terms of the structure and costs of each fund.
The three ETFs below represent three different ways to access large-cap US growth: a Nasdaq-focused vehicle that emphasizes tech and AI infrastructure, a broad market growth index at almost negligible costs, and a broad Russell 1000 growth fund that adds more diversification across all sectors. Each person earns their spot on this list for a different reason.
Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ): Nasdaq-100 Standard
Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) is the most direct way to own the Nasdaq-100, an index of the 100 largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq. With net assets of $395 billion, it is one of the most widely traded ETFs in the world, meaning tight bid-ask spreads and deep liquidity for investors of any size.
The portfolio is built around companies leading the current AI infrastructure cycle. Nvidia accounts for about 9% of the fund, followed by Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Tesla in the top five. Semiconductor and chip equipment names including Broadcom, Micron, AMD, Applied Materials and Lam Research collectively represent a meaningful portion of the portfolio, making QQQ a concentrated bet on the hardware layer of AI computing.
Information technology alone accounts for approximately 49% of the fund, with communication services comprising a meaningful secondary allocation. That concentration is both an appeal and a risk. When AI-driven demand is accelerating, QQQ outperforms broader market benchmarks. When sentiment turns against large-cap technology, defensive potential becomes limited. The fund also has a 0.18% expense ratio, which is absolutely modest but higher than the alternatives on this list.
QQQ’s long-term track record reflects the compounding power of ownership of Nasdaq-100 growth leaders – the fund has returned nearly 25% over the past year and 461% over the past decade. The current year-to-date decline of approximately 2% through mid-March 2026 reflects the broader softness in growth equities and sits within the normal range of consolidation that the fund has experienced during previous AI-cycle pauses.
Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG): Broad Growth at Nearly Zero Costs
Vanguard Growth ETF (NYSEARCA:VUG) CRSP tracks the US Large Cap Growth Index, which draws from the full large-cap US equity universe rather than limiting itself to Nasdaq-listed companies. The result is a broader portfolio that still leads with the same mega-cap tech names but adds meaningful exposure to the financial services, health care, and industrial sectors that QQQ structurally excludes.
The expense ratio here is 0.03%, which is close to the free amount a fund can get. The fund manages approximately $336 billion of assets, reflecting its position as one of the most widely held growth vehicles among long-term investors.
VUG’s top holdings closely mirror QQQ: Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft are at the top, with the three together representing about a third of the portfolio. But the differences beneath that surface matter. VUG has given Eli Lilly a roughly 3% stake in the fund, giving investors exposure to the AI infrastructure theme as well as the GLP-1 pharmaceutical cycle. Visa and MasterCard also appear in the top 15, adding sustainable growth businesses to the financial infrastructure that QQQ’s non-financial screen completely excludes.
The tradeoff is a slightly different performance profile. VUG has returned about 21% over the past year, which is slightly behind QQQ, and is down about 6% year-to-date. The broad sector mix may work against the fund in periods when net Nasdaq momentum is strong, but additional diversification into healthcare and financials mitigates single-sector concentration risk.
iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF (IWF): The broadest net in large-cap growth
iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF (NASDAQ:IWF) tracks the Russell 1000 Growth Index, which applies a growth screen to the 1,000 largest U.S. companies. The result is a portfolio of over 500 positions, making it the most diversified of the three funds here while still maintaining the same mega-cap tech leadership at the top.
The top holdings are familiar – Nvidia, Apple and Microsoft sit at the top of the portfolio, together accounting for about a third of the fund, reflecting the leadership seen in QQQ and VUG. What sets IWF apart is what comes next.
IWF’s broad mandate means the fund includes a meaningful health care weighting at 8.3% and the industrial sector at around 7%, sectors that are essentially absent from the QQQ and under-represented in the VUG. Names like AbbVie, GE Aerospace and Home Depot appear in the top 20, reflecting a definition of growth that moves beyond pure technology into sustainable earning businesses in different parts of the economy.
The expense ratio of 0.18% matches QQQ, and the fund has $116.5 billion in assets. Over the past year, IWF has returned nearly 20%, and tracking closely with VUG, it is down about 6% year-to-date.
The broad holdings list minimizes the impact of any single stock’s poor performance, but it also means the fund captures a long tail of mid-tier growth companies that may not have the same earnings durability as the top 10. Those researching the Russell 1000 Growth benchmark for asset allocation or benchmarking purposes will find IWF the most obvious vehicle in this category.
How do these three funds compare?
QQQ offers maximum concentration in Nasdaq-listed technology and AI infrastructure companies, covering a swath of the sector. VUG differentiates itself through broad sector diversification and a fee structure that is essentially negligible for long-term holders. IWF provides a comprehensive definition of large-cap US growth, including meaningful health care and industrial exposures within a single liquid vehicle. Investors researching growth ETFs may find it useful to compare these funds to their own benchmarks and asset allocation goals.