VOT: Vanguard Morningstar Mid-Cap Growth ETF
What this ETF is trying to do
The Vanguard Morningstar Mid-Cap Growth ETF (VOT) focuses on mid-sized companies that are expected to grow. Instead of buying just one company, this ETF holds a variety of them. As of October 4, 2026, the fund held 126 different companies.
Top Holdings
The portfolio is spread across many businesses. Some of the largest holdings include:
• Howmet Aerospace Inc (2.57%)
• Quanta Services Inc (2.28%)
• Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (2.18%)
• Western Digital Corp (2.14%)
• Vertiv Holdings Co Class A (2.11%)
What the numbers show
As of September 18, 2026, the share price was $292.25. To understand how it has performed, we look at two different types of returns: price return (how the share price moved) and total return (which includes the share price plus cash distributions).
• Year-to-Date (YTD): The price return is 4.70%, while the total return is 5.05%.
• One Year: The price return was -0.23%, but the total return was 0.42%.
• Three Year: The price return was 45.96%, and the total return was 49.06%.
An estimated price from roughly one year ago was $292.93. If you had invested $10,000 based on that estimated price, the price-only return of -0.23% would mean your investment value (excluding distributions) would be approximately $9,977.
Income and distribution explanation
This ETF pays out cash to investors, usually every quarter. Over the last 12 months, it made 4 payments. The distribution yield is 0.62%.
It is important for beginners to know that a distribution yield is not the same as a total return. While distributions provide cash income, they do not guarantee that the original investment value will stay the same or grow.
NAV erosion explanation
"NAV erosion" happens when the actual value of the assets inside an ETF drops over time. StockValueFinder uses an erosion-risk score to measure this.
VOT has an erosion score of 94, which is labeled as "Stable / sideways" with "good" severity. The severe erosion-risk flag is false, meaning the fund has not triggered a warning for substantial price deterioration.
Pros
• Strong three-year total return of 49.06%.
• Stable erosion-risk score.
• Diversified across 126 holdings.
Cons
• The one-year price return is slightly negative (-0.23%).
• The distribution yield is relatively low at 0.62%.
Beginner takeaway
VOT is a growth-focused fund. While its share price has been mostly flat over the last year, it has shown significant growth over a three-year period. It provides a small amount of cash income, but its main goal is growth rather than high monthly or quarterly payouts.
Top Holdings
Structured portfolio holdings supplied by the ETF data provider. These figures are not generated by the AI article.
| # | Holding | Ticker | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | VERTIV HOLDINGS CO CLASS A | VRT | 2.23% |
| 2 | HOWMET AEROSPACE INC | HWM | 2.20% |
| 3 | CLOUDFLARE INC | NET | 2.19% |
| 4 | SEAGATE TECHNOLOGY HOLDINGS PLC | STX | 2.08% |
| 5 | QUANTA SERVICES INC | PWR | 2.04% |
| 6 | CONSTELLATION ENERGY CORP | CEG | 2.00% |
| 7 | DOORDASH INC ORDINARY SHARES CLASS A | DASH | 1.93% |
| 8 | ROBINHOOD MARKETS INC CLASS A | HOOD | 1.86% |
| 9 | MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS INC | MSI | 1.81% |
| 10 | DATADOG INC CLASS A | DDOG | 1.76% |