Small cap growth is the subset of stocks that covers smaller listed companies in any given market that are also considered overpriced relative to their fundamentals.
Asset Settings
Not all small cap growth stocks are the same, and the numbers depend on your local currency and inflation. Choose the target market and home country, and the page will display funds and data that apply to you.
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Index Funds
United States Small Cap Growth Stocks
ETFs in the United States
| Ticker | Provider | Index | Expense Ratio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VBK | Vanguard | Morningstar US SCG | 0.05 | |
ISIN: US9229085959; Dividends: Distributing; Notes: — | ||||
| VTWG | Vanguard | Russell 2000 Growth | 0.06 | |
ISIN: US92206C6232; Dividends: Distributing; Notes: — | ||||
| ISCG | iShares | Morningstar SCG | 0.06 | |
ISIN: US4642886042; Dividends: Distributing; Notes: — | ||||
| VIOG | Vanguard | S&P Small Cap 600 Growth | 0.1 | |
ISIN: US9219327940; Dividends: Distributing; Notes: — | ||||
| SLYG | State Street | S&P 600 SCG | 0.15 | |
ISIN: US78464A2015; Dividends: Distributing; Notes: — | ||||
| IJT | iShares | S&P Small Cap 600 Growth | 0.18 | |
ISIN: US4642878874; Dividends: Distributing; Notes: — | ||||
| IWO | iShares | Russell 2000 Growth | 0.24 | |
ISIN: US4642876480; Dividends: Distributing; Notes: — | ||||
No funds found. See alternatives.
Notes Definitions
- +SCB — Total market fund that includes small caps (85% LCB + 15% SCB)
- +EM — Global fund that includes emerging markets (~90% DEV + 10% EM)
- -CAN — Excludes Canada (or other specified country normally in the index)
- Acc — Accumulating
- Dist — Distributing
Assume there are errors and always do your own research. No listings or links are sponsored. Because they track similar indices, all funds should have similar returns before fees.
/// Report an error or suggest a fund ///
Alternatives
Other options when no small cap growth funds are available
- USA Small Cap Growth — Because it is a large market, there tend to me more small cap funds in the US than in other countries.
- Small Cap Blend — Even when there are not growth or value versions, blend funds are more common.
Definition
The Portfolio Charts small cap growth data tracks the smallest 85th through 98th percentile of a given market sorted by capitalization. The last 2% is generally considered micro caps and is excluded.
Some index providers define small caps using a company count instead of market percentages. Because of the way both methods are based on historical standards in the data, they should still be in the same ballpark.
“Growth” means that the index focuses on the half of the market considered overpriced relative to company fundamentals. Even if the entire market is undervalued or overvalued, the fund will still hold the relatively undervalued half of the market.
Small cap growth has been called the “black hole of investing”, as its construction naturally allows the best high-growth companies to eventually leave the index once it qualifies as a large cap. That negative connotation is debatable, but the reality of how it works is straightforward.
Performance
Since 1970, an investor in the United States holding United States small cap growth stocks earned an average 8.6% real return, with a baseline CAGR of 5.3% over 15 years. Its worst peak-to-trough loss was 67%, and the longest a new investment spent below water was under 11 years.
United States Small Cap Growth Stock Performance
| # | Metric | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| 8.6% | Average return | Mean annual return after inflation |
| 5.3% | Baseline real return (15 years) | What 15-year stretches returned in the weaker outcomes |
| 67% | Deepest drawdown | Worst peak-to-trough loss after inflation |
| 11 years | Longest drawdown | Longest a new investment stayed below what you put in |
| 22.0% | Volatility (standard deviation) | Year-to-year variation in returns |
See this asset in the Annual Returns, Long Term Returns, and Drawdowns charts.
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Data for all markets and home countries
Small Cap Growth Stock Data for All Markets and Home Countries
Everything this page knows about small cap growth stocks, as plain text for readers and assistants that cannot use the controls above: first the performance stats for every market and home country, then every index fund on this page by market and home country. The blocks above show one market and one home country at a time; these tables show all of them.
To open this page on a specific market and home country, link readers to it with ?market=MARKET&home=COUNTRY added to the URL, using the codes shown in parentheses — market codes on the rows of the stats tables and in the Market column of the fund tables, home country codes on the stats tables' headings and in the Home countries column of the fund tables (e.g. ?market=xus&home=deu). Either parameter may be omitted; the defaults are the United States for both. The asset itself is fixed by the page, so ?pk= has no effect here. More in the Guide for AI Assistants.
Small Cap Growth Stock Performance by Market and Home Country
Small Cap Growth Stocks in all 4 markets the data tracks, for all 12 home countries, 1970–2025. Each row is one market; each table is one home country.
United States (usa)
| Market | Average | Baseline | Deepest | Longest | Volatility |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Developed ex-US (xus) | 6.8% | 1.2% | 60% | 24 years | 23.2% |
| Developed World (dev) | 7.4% | 3.1% | 48% | 15 years | 19.8% |
| Europe (eur) | 7.6% | 2.1% | 61% | 20 years | 24.3% |
| United States (usa) | 8.6% | 5.3% | 67% | 11 years | 22.0% |
Australia (aus)
| Market | Average | Baseline | Deepest | Longest | Volatility |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Developed ex-US (xus) | 6.2% | -0.7% | 50% | 27 years | 20.6% |
| Developed World (dev) | 7.1% | 1.9% | 53% | 14 years | 18.8% |
| Europe (eur) | 7.1% | 1.6% | 57% | 17 years | 23.2% |
| United States (usa) | 8.7% | 3.5% | 74% | 14 years | 22.8% |
Canada (can)
| Market | Average | Baseline | Deepest | Longest | Volatility |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Developed ex-US (xus) | 6.9% | -0.2% | 51% | 24 years | 20.8% |
| Developed World (dev) | 7.5% | 2.5% | 48% | 14 years | 17.4% |
| Europe (eur) | 7.7% | 2.1% | 58% | 15 years | 22.6% |
| United States (usa) | 8.8% | 4.7% | 68% | 13 years | 20.4% |
France (fra)
| Market | Average | Baseline | Deepest | Longest | Volatility |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Developed ex-US (xus) | 6.8% | 1.1% | 56% | 23 years | 22.7% |
| Developed World (dev) | 7.6% | 3.1% | 55% | 13 years | 21.0% |
| Europe (eur) | 7.4% | 2.6% | 62% | 20 years | 22.9% |
| United States (usa) | 9.2% | 4.8% | 75% | 13 years | 24.6% |
Germany (deu)
| Market | Average | Baseline | Deepest | Longest | Volatility |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Developed ex-US (xus) | 6.6% | 1.1% | 56% | 24 years | 23.3% |
| Developed World (dev) | 7.4% | 3.2% | 57% | 20 years | 21.7% |
| Europe (eur) | 7.3% | 2.5% | 62% | 20 years | 23.6% |
| United States (usa) | 9.0% | 4.8% | 77% | 19 years | 25.3% |
Italy (ita)
| Market | Average | Baseline | Deepest | Longest | Volatility |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Developed ex-US (xus) | 6.7% | 0.6% | 57% | 24 years | 22.5% |
| Developed World (dev) | 7.6% | 3.3% | 50% | 16 years | 20.7% |
| Europe (eur) | 7.4% | 2.1% | 63% | 20 years | 22.6% |
| United States (usa) | 9.1% | 5.0% | 71% | 12 years | 24.5% |
Japan (jpn)
| Market | Average | Baseline | Deepest | Longest | Volatility |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Developed ex-US (xus) | 6.7% | 1.0% | 60% | 31 years | 22.3% |
| Developed World (dev) | 7.7% | 2.7% | 58% | 19 years | 21.7% |
| Europe (eur) | 7.8% | 1.7% | 64% | 26 years | 25.3% |
| United States (usa) | 9.4% | 3.9% | 78% | 26 years | 25.8% |
Netherlands (nld)
| Market | Average | Baseline | Deepest | Longest | Volatility |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Developed ex-US (xus) | 6.3% | 0.6% | 58% | 24 years | 23.1% |
| Developed World (dev) | 7.1% | 2.7% | 58% | 20 years | 21.5% |
| Europe (eur) | 7.0% | 2.2% | 64% | 20 years | 23.6% |
| United States (usa) | 8.7% | 4.5% | 78% | 22 years | 25.1% |
Spain (esp)
| Market | Average | Baseline | Deepest | Longest | Volatility |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Developed ex-US (xus) | 6.0% | 0.2% | 58% | 24 years | 23.1% |
| Developed World (dev) | 6.9% | 2.2% | 58% | 20 years | 21.6% |
| Europe (eur) | 6.7% | 1.6% | 64% | 23 years | 23.8% |
| United States (usa) | 8.5% | 3.9% | 78% | 22 years | 25.1% |
Sweden (swe)
| Market | Average | Baseline | Deepest | Longest | Volatility |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Developed ex-US (xus) | 7.1% | 1.9% | 53% | 21 years | 21.4% |
| Developed World (dev) | 8.0% | 4.0% | 54% | 13 years | 19.5% |
| Europe (eur) | 7.9% | 3.0% | 60% | 14 years | 22.3% |
| United States (usa) | 9.6% | 5.7% | 75% | 13 years | 23.2% |
Switzerland (che)
| Market | Average | Baseline | Deepest | Longest | Volatility |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Developed ex-US (xus) | 5.8% | 0.2% | 59% | 31 years | 24.1% |
| Developed World (dev) | 6.7% | 2.0% | 64% | 20 years | 22.7% |
| Europe (eur) | 6.6% | 1.1% | 65% | 20 years | 24.8% |
| United States (usa) | 8.4% | 4.0% | 81% | 22 years | 26.4% |
United Kingdom (gbr)
| Market | Average | Baseline | Deepest | Longest | Volatility |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Developed ex-US (xus) | 6.2% | 1.9% | 61% | 24 years | 21.3% |
| Developed World (dev) | 7.0% | 3.1% | 51% | 14 years | 19.2% |
| Europe (eur) | 6.7% | 2.7% | 60% | 17 years | 21.0% |
| United States (usa) | 8.4% | 5.5% | 71% | 22 years | 22.3% |
Small Cap Growth Stock Index Funds by Market and Home Country
Every small cap growth stock index fund on this page: 7 fund listings across 1 market, available to investors in 1 home country. Each table is one target market (the region the fund invests in); each row is one fund, listed once with every home country it is sold in.
Home country codes: United States (usa).
United States Small Cap Growth Stocks (usa)
| Market | ISIN | Tickers | Provider | Index | Expense Ratio | Dividends | Notes | Home countries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| usa | US9229085959 | VBK | Vanguard | Morningstar US SCG | 0.05 | Distributing | — | usa |
| usa | US4642886042 | ISCG | iShares | Morningstar SCG | 0.06 | Distributing | — | usa |
| usa | US92206C6232 | VTWG | Vanguard | Russell 2000 Growth | 0.06 | Distributing | — | usa |
| usa | US9219327940 | VIOG | Vanguard | S&P Small Cap 600 Growth | 0.1 | Distributing | — | usa |
| usa | US78464A2015 | SLYG | State Street | S&P 600 SCG | 0.15 | Distributing | — | usa |
| usa | US4642878874 | IJT | iShares | S&P Small Cap 600 Growth | 0.18 | Distributing | — | usa |
| usa | US4642876480 | IWO | iShares | Russell 2000 Growth | 0.24 | Distributing | — | usa |