Better Small-Cap Growth ETF: Vanguard's VBK vs. State Street's SLYG

5 hours ago 2

Robert Izquierdo, The Motley Fool

Sun, January 11, 2026 astatine 11:28 AM CST 5 min read

VBK charges a little disbursal ratio and holds a overmuch larger plus basal than SLYG.
VBK has delivered a higher 1-year full instrumentality but experienced a deeper five-year drawdown.
Sector tilts amusement some funds favour technology, but VBK leans adjacent much heavy into this space.
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The State Street SPDR S&P 600 Small Cap Growth ETF (NYSEMKT:SLYG) and the Vanguard Small-Cap Growth ETF (NYSEMKT:VBK) some people U.S. small-cap maturation stocks, but VBK charges a little fee, is acold larger by assets nether management, and shows a stronger caller show grounds alongside higher volatility.

Both SLYG and VBK are designed to seizure the upside of U.S. small-cap maturation companies, though they way antithetic benchmarks and usage chiseled enactment criteria.

This examination explores however their costs, returns, hazard profiles, and portfolio tilts stack up for investors seeking vulnerability to fast-growing smaller firms.

Metric

SLYG

VBK

Issuer	SPDR	Vanguard
Expense ratio	0.15%	0.07%
1-yr instrumentality (as of Jan. 9, 2026)	10.2%	14.4%
Dividend yield	0.8%	0.5%
Beta	1.18	1.43
AUM	$3.7 billion	$39.7 billion

Beta measures terms volatility comparative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated from five-year play returns. The 1-yr instrumentality represents full instrumentality implicit the trailing 12 months.

VBK looks much affordable, charging little than fractional the disbursal ratio of SLYG, though SLYG offers a somewhat higher dividend output implicit the past year.

Metric

SLYG

VBK

Max drawdown (5 y)	-29.18%	-38.39%
Growth of $1,000 implicit 5 years	$1,210	$1,145

VBK tracks a wide handbasket of 579 U.S. small-cap maturation stocks, with exertion (27%), industrials (21%), and healthcare (18%) arsenic its largest assemblage allocations. Its apical holdings arsenic of the latest information see Insmed Inc (NASDAQ:INSM), Comfort Systems USA Inc (NYSE:FIX), and SoFi Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:SOFI), each representing a small implicit 1% of the fund. The money has a agelong way grounds of 22 years, and its assemblage allocation shows a pronounced tilt toward exertion comparative to its peer.

SLYG, successful contrast, covers 336 stocks and places somewhat little value connected exertion (19%), with industrials (18%), and healthcare (16%) adjacent behind. Its largest positions see Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals In (NASDAQ:ARWR), Armstrong World Industries (NYSE:AWI), and Jbt Marel Corp (NYSE:JBTM).

Both funds debar leverage, currency hedges, oregon ESG overlays, truthful investors should expect straightforward vulnerability to small-cap maturation factors. SLYG’s enactment process emphasizes income maturation and momentum, portion VBK’s attack results successful broader diversification and a heavier tech exposure.