VUG vs MTUM: which ETF won each year?

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

VUG tracks the CRSP US Large Cap Growth IndexMTUM tracks the MSCI USA Momentum SR Variant 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.

VUG turned it into
$49,942
+17.45% per year on average · 20162025
MTUM turned it into
$38,506
+14.43% per year on average · 20162025
Difference
+$11,436
VUG made more of the same money

VUG vs MTUM, 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
14
where both funds were trading
VUG won
6
years
MTUM won
8
years
YearVUGMTUMWinner
2026 (so far)+6.18%+37.24%MTUM
2025+19.40%+22.15%MTUM
2024+32.69%+32.89%MTUM
2023+46.83%+9.15%VUG
2022-33.16%-18.27%MTUM
2021+27.35%+13.36%VUG
2020+40.25%+29.86%VUG
2019+37.03%+27.25%VUG
2018-3.32%-1.67%MTUM
2017+27.72%+37.50%MTUM
2016+6.27%+5.00%VUG
2015+3.24%+8.91%MTUM
2014+13.61%+14.62%MTUM
2013+32.48%+19.21%VUG
2012+17.01%
2011+1.82%
2010+17.22%
2009+36.14%
2008-38.02%
2007+12.52%
2006+9.19%
2005+5.02%
2004+4.99%

VUG vs MTUM in plain words

VUG tracks the CRSP US Large Cap Growth Index while MTUM follows the MSCI USA Momentum SR Variant Index, so they own different slices of the market and their years can look very different. VUG charges 0.03% a year in running costs and MTUM charges 0.15% — VUG is the cheaper fund to hold.

Both funds distribute: dividends land in your account as cash instead of being reinvested automatically. Across the 14 calendar years both funds were trading, VUG finished the year ahead 6 times and MTUM 8 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $49,942 in VUG versus $38,506 in MTUM by the end of 2025, dividends reinvested.

Fund facts: VUG vs MTUM

FactVUGMTUM
FundVanguard Growth ETFiShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF
TracksCRSP US Large Cap Growth IndexMSCI USA Momentum SR Variant Index
Yearly cost (TER)0.03%0.15%
DividendsDistributing — dividends paid outDistributing — dividends paid out
Launched26 Jan 200416 Apr 2013

Frequently asked

Is VUG or MTUM better?

Across the 14 calendar years both funds were trading, VUG finished the year ahead 6 times and MTUM 8 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $49,942 in VUG versus $38,506 in MTUM 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 VUG and MTUM?

VUG tracks the CRSP US Large Cap Growth Index while MTUM follows the MSCI USA Momentum SR Variant Index, so they own different slices of the market and their years can look very different. VUG charges 0.03% a year in running costs and MTUM charges 0.15% — 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 VUG have become?

$10,000 invested in VUG at the start of 2016 grew to $49,942 by the end of 2025, with dividends reinvested — an average of 17.4% per year.

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