VOO vs MGK: Which Vanguard ETF Fits Your Portfolio?

Picky about which Vanguard fund to throw your money into? Here’s the breakdown:

The Setup Both track large-cap U.S. stocks, but they play the game differently. VOO (S&P 500 ETF) goes broad—504 holdings across the entire market. MGK (Mega Cap Growth ETF) goes narrow—66 mega-cap tech plays.

The Numbers That Matter

Why This Matters MGK’s been hot lately—19.9% in the past year beats VOO’s 12.3%. But here’s the catch: it got there by betting hard on tech (69% of the fund). When tech sneezes, MGK feels it more. That -36% max drawdown? Brutal.

VOO’s the safer play. Lower fees, better dividend income, and it doesn’t put all its eggs in the tech basket. Sure, it returned less over 5 years, but it also lost less when things got messy.

The Real Talk If you can sleep through volatility and believe mega-cap tech will keep ripping? MGK might deliver bigger gains. If you prefer steady, boring, diversified returns without checking your portfolio every 3 minutes? VOO’s got your back. Most folks? VOO’s the smarter default.