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Vanguard · GROWTH · 0.04% ER

VUG calculator

Historical growth of Vanguard Growth ETF using CRSP US Large Growth (proxied by S&P 500) return series. Dividends reinvested at year-end; expense ratio drag negligible at 0.04%.

Last reviewed July 2, 2026Fact-checked against primary sourcesEditorial standards
Coverage: Compound interest · Retirement · FIRE · Debt payoff · Mortgages · Fraud prevention
Built from: IRS · FINRA · SEC · BLS · Federal Reserve · Freddie Mac30+ primary sources verified
Historical benchmark

$10,000 invested in VUG at inception (2004) with dividends reinvested through end of 2024 would be worth approximately $77,869 nominal ($45,670 in 2004 dollars). Annualized nominal: 10.27%; real: 7.50%.

Your what-if
$
2004
19282024
You would have
$78K
by end of 2024 — from $10K invested at start of 2004
In 2004 dollars (real, after inflation)$46K
Annualized nominal return10.27%
Annualized real return7.50%
Years held21
Cumulative inflation×1.71

Uses annual S&P 500 total return (with dividends reinvested) and CPI-U inflation, 1928–2024. Source: Damodaran (NYU Stern) + Shiller CAPE + BLS. Excludes fees, taxes, and bid/ask. Real return = nominal ÷ cumulative CPI.

VUG at a glance

Full nameVanguard Growth ETF
ProviderVanguard
Expense ratio0.04%
Inception2004
Assets under management$200B
Dividend yield0.50%
Return series usedCRSP US Large Growth (proxied by S&P 500)

How this calculator works

For each start year, we apply the year-by-year total return of the CRSP US Large Growth (proxied by S&P 500) to the entered starting amount, compounding annually with dividends reinvested at year-end. This mirrors what an actual buy-and-hold VUG holder would have experienced, before fees and taxes. Expense ratio is intentionally excluded from the historical result to keep the underlying series comparable across ETFs; for a full lifetime fee estimate at 0.04%, use the projection tab in our fund fee analyzer.

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