URTH vs VUG: which ETF won each year?

Yearly returns side by side, one winner per year — dividends included, priced as you'd actually buy them.

URTH tracks the MSCI World IndexVUG tracks the CRSP US Large Cap Growth Index

What did the last 10 years do to $10,000?

You invest $10,000 at the start of the window and touch nothing — dividends reinvested, the running year not counted.

URTH turned it into
$32,044
+12.35% per year on average · 20162025
VUG turned it into
$49,942
+17.45% per year on average · 20162025
Difference
−$17,898
VUG made more of the same money

URTH vs VUG, year by year

Calendar-year total returns (dividends included) side by side, and who took the crown each year. A dash means the fund did not exist yet.

Years compared
15
where both funds were trading
URTH won
4
years
VUG won
11
years
YearURTHVUGWinner
2026 (so far)+9.81%+6.18%URTH
2025+21.36%+19.40%URTH
2024+18.66%+32.69%VUG
2023+23.95%+46.83%VUG
2022-17.97%-33.16%URTH
2021+22.27%+27.35%VUG
2020+15.78%+40.25%VUG
2019+28.15%+37.03%VUG
2018-8.56%-3.32%VUG
2017+22.95%+27.72%VUG
2016+7.31%+6.27%URTH
2015-0.64%+3.24%VUG
2014+4.37%+13.61%VUG
2013+26.66%+32.48%VUG
2012+14.71%+17.01%VUG
2011+1.82%
2010+17.22%
2009+36.14%
2008-38.02%
2007+12.52%
2006+9.19%
2005+5.02%
2004+4.99%

URTH vs VUG in plain words

URTH tracks the MSCI World Index while VUG follows the CRSP US Large Cap Growth Index, so they own different slices of the market and their years can look very different. URTH charges 0.24% a year in running costs and VUG charges 0.03% — VUG is the cheaper fund to hold.

Both funds distribute: dividends land in your account as cash instead of being reinvested automatically. Across the 15 calendar years both funds were trading, URTH finished the year ahead 4 times and VUG 11 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $32,044 in URTH versus $49,942 in VUG by the end of 2025, dividends reinvested.

Fund facts: URTH vs VUG

FactURTHVUG
FundiShares MSCI World ETFVanguard Growth ETF
TracksMSCI World IndexCRSP US Large Cap Growth Index
Yearly cost (TER)0.24%0.03%
DividendsDistributing — dividends paid outDistributing — dividends paid out
Launched10 Jan 201226 Jan 2004

Frequently asked

Is URTH or VUG better?

Across the 15 calendar years both funds were trading, URTH finished the year ahead 4 times and VUG 11 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $32,044 in URTH versus $49,942 in VUG by the end of 2025, dividends reinvested. Past returns don't promise future ones — but this is what actually happened.

What is the difference between URTH and VUG?

URTH tracks the MSCI World Index while VUG follows the CRSP US Large Cap Growth Index, so they own different slices of the market and their years can look very different. URTH charges 0.24% a year in running costs and VUG charges 0.03% — VUG is the cheaper fund to hold. Both funds distribute: dividends land in your account as cash instead of being reinvested automatically.

What would $10,000 in URTH have become?

$10,000 invested in URTH at the start of 2016 grew to $32,044 by the end of 2025, with dividends reinvested — an average of 12.4% per year.

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