What Is IVW? iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF
Last updated September 2026
Short answer
IVW is iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF, an ETF that tracks the S&P 500 Growth Index at a 0.18% expense ratio. IVW does not go looking for growth companies across the market. It takes the S&P 500 and splits it, keeping the half that screens as growth on sales growth, earnings change and momentum. That mechanism explains everything odd about the fund: it is extraordinarily concentrated, technology is 52% of it, and Nvidia alone is 13.6%. You are not buying diversified growth exposure. You are buying a leveraged expression of whatever the largest US technology companies are doing.
IVW is issued by iShares and tracks the S&P 500 Growth Index. It charges a 0.18% expense ratio, holds approximately $75.0B in assets under management, yields about 0.36%, and launched in 2000.
What the S&P 500 Growth screen actually does
Standard & Poor's scores every S&P 500 company on three growth factors and three value factors, then allocates each company to the growth index, the value index, or splits it between them. A company can therefore appear in both IVW and its value sibling at partial weight.
The consequence is that IVW is not a separate universe of high-growth companies. It is a re-weighting of the S&P 500, which is why its largest holdings are the same mega-caps you already own in any broad fund, just at much heavier weights.
The concentration is the story
Nvidia is 13.6% of the fund. Microsoft is 7.8%, Apple 6.0%, Alphabet 5.9% across its two share classes plus 4.7%, and Broadcom 5.0%. Technology is 52% of the portfolio and communication services another 16%.
Roughly seven companies account for close to half of IVW. That is a legitimate way to own the market's growth end, but it should be understood as a concentrated position rather than a diversified one. If Nvidia has a bad year, IVW has a bad year, and no amount of the other 200 holdings will offset it.
The bottom line on IVW
IVW tracks the S&P 500 Growth Index at 0.18%, holds about $75.0B, and has traded since 2000. It is a concentrated bet on US mega-cap technology dressed as a style fund, with Nvidia at 13.6% and technology at 52%. VONG covers nearly identical ground for 0.06%, which is the comparison worth making before buying.
IVW holdings: top 10
Approximate weights as of August 2026. Each ticker links to its individual stock guide in Walnut.
How do I invest in IVW?
There are three common ways to get IVW exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) of IVW directly at any major broker that lists it. Hold it as a core position and layer more concentrated ideas on top. Or build it into a thematic portfolio in Walnut, so IVW sits alongside other holdings that express the same thesis, with target weights you can rebalance toward. IVW trades like a stock during market hours, so you buy it the same way you would any listed share.
New to buying funds? See how to buy an ETF, step by step.
Is IVW a good buy?
Whether IVW is a good buy depends less on any single call and more on your time horizon and what you already hold: it tracks the S&P 500 Growth Index, so the real question is whether you want that exposure in your mix and at what weight. We walk through valuation, concentration, and what would have to be true for it to outperform from here in is IVW a buy?
The bottom line on IVW
IVW gives you the S&P 500 Growth Index exposure in one ticker at a 0.18% expense ratio. Most investors use it as a core holding and layer more concentrated thematic portfolios on top.
More on IVW
Whether IVW is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, concentration, and what would have to be true for it to outperform from here in is IVW a buy?
IVW yields 0.36% as of August 2026, paid by passing through the dividends of its underlying holdings. For the payout schedule, history, and how the distributions are taxed, see IVW dividend: yield and schedule.
New to funds like IVW? Start with what an ETF is, then how to buy an ETF, or browse the full guide to ETF investing.
Wondering how IVW fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in IVW with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how IVW fits what you actually hold: what it overlaps with, what it leaves you exposed to, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What is IVW?
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IVW is the iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF. It holds the companies within the S&P 500 that score as growth on sales growth, earnings change and momentum. It charges 0.18%, holds about $75.0B, and launched in 2000.
What does IVW hold?
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Mega-cap US growth companies at heavy weights. Nvidia is 13.6% of the fund, Microsoft 7.8%, Apple 6.0%, Alphabet 5.9% and 4.7% across its two share classes, and Broadcom 5.0%. Technology is 52% of the portfolio.
How does the S&P 500 Growth Index decide what counts as growth?
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S&P scores each S&P 500 company on three growth factors and three value factors, then assigns it to the growth index, the value index, or splits it between both. It is a re-weighting of the S&P 500, not a search across the wider market.
IVW vs VONG: what is the difference?
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Very little in exposure, quite a lot in price. VONG tracks the Russell 1000 Growth Index at 0.06% with about $53.4B; IVW tracks the S&P 500 Growth Index at 0.18% with about $75.0B. Both are dominated by the same mega-caps, with Nvidia near 14% in each. The index provider differs; the trade does not.
Is IVW too concentrated?
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It depends what you want from it, but the numbers are worth knowing: about seven companies make up close to half the fund, and technology is 52%. That is a concentrated position, not a diversified growth allocation, and it will move with a handful of names.
Does IVW overlap with an S&P 500 fund?
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Heavily. Every IVW holding is already in the S&P 500. Holding both does not add companies, it just increases your weight in the growth half. If you own VOO and add IVW, you are tilting, not diversifying.
Does IVW pay a dividend?
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It distributes about 0.36%, typically quarterly. Growth companies generally reinvest earnings rather than distribute them, so income is not the reason to hold this fund.
What are the risks of holding IVW?
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Concentration and valuation. With Nvidia at 13.6% and technology at 52%, a downturn in large-cap technology hits this fund far harder than a broad index. Growth stocks are also more sensitive to interest rates, since more of their value sits in distant future earnings.
Is IVW expensive at 0.18%?
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Relative to what it does, yes. VONG delivers comparable exposure at 0.06%, a third of the cost. On a $10,000 position that is about $18 a year versus $6. The gap is small in isolation and meaningful over decades.
What is IVW's expense ratio?
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IVW has an expense ratio of 0.18% per year as of August 2026, charged by iShares and deducted from the fund's value rather than billed to you separately. On a $10,000 position that is roughly $18 a year. Fees compound over time, so on a long-term holding the expense ratio is one of the few return drivers you control. It is worth comparing against other funds that track the S&P 500 Growth Index before you choose.
How do I compare IVW to similar ETFs?
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Put a few fields side by side: the expense ratio (fees compound over decades), the index or strategy it tracks, the top holdings and how much they overlap with what you already own, the dividend yield, and the AUM, liquidity, and bid-ask spread that affect trading costs. For index funds, tracking error (how closely it follows its index) and tax efficiency matter too. IVW's figures are above; the full method is in Walnut's guide on how to compare ETFs.
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Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Holdings weights and fund statistics on this page are approximations stamped to August 2026; verify current figures against iShares's fund page or your broker before investing.