What Is VGT? Vanguard Information Technology ETF

VGT is the Vanguard Information Technology ETF, a passively-managed fund that holds roughly 300 US-listed companies classified as information technology. It tracks an MSCI US tech index, and it covers the full sweep of the sector: semiconductors, software, IT services, and hardware, from the largest names in the market down through the mid and small caps. At a 0.09% expense ratio it is the cheapest broad tech sector vehicle in the category, which is a big part of why it has become the default for fee-conscious investors who want tech exposure in a single ticker.

The defining feature of VGT is that it follows GICS sector classification strictly. That sounds like a technicality, but it shapes the whole fund: Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta are not in VGT, because they are classified as Consumer Discretionary or Communication Services rather than Information Technology. So VGT is broad tech in the formal sense, but it is not the same thing as broad mega-cap growth. What you get is the pure-tech slice of the market, cap-weighted, at near-zero cost.

Approximate weights as of early 2026; refresh quarterly from Vanguard's fund page. Each ticker links to its individual stock guide in Walnut.

Because VGT is cap-weighted, the top of the fund is dominated by the three multi-trillion-dollar tech franchises: Microsoft, Apple, and NVIDIA. Those three alone typically run close to half of the fund, and the full top 10 (which also includes Broadcom, Oracle, Salesforce, Adobe, AMD, Accenture, and Cisco) accounts for roughly 60% of assets. See the top-10 table above for current weights. The remaining ~300 holdings split the other ~40%, which is where VGT differs most from a narrower tech fund.

Underneath the mega-caps, the fund leans heavily on semiconductors and software, with IT services and hardware filling out the rest. Semiconductors in particular carry a lot of weight through NVIDIA, Broadcom, AMD, and a long tail of chip and chip-equipment names, which is why VGT often gets used as a broad AI infrastructure proxy. The trade-off is concentration: when the three names at the top move, VGT moves with them, so the breadth in the tail does less to cushion the fund than the headline holding count might suggest.

These three look similar from a distance but express different ideas. VGT (Vanguard, 0.09%) holds about 300 tech-classified names and reaches down into mid and small caps. XLK (State Street, also 0.09%) holds only the S&P 500's tech sector, roughly 70 stocks, so its smaller universe lets the trillion-dollar names dominate even further and it tends to be more top-heavy than VGT. QQQ is a different animal entirely: it tracks the Nasdaq-100 rather than a sector, so it deliberately includes Amazon, Meta, Alphabet, Tesla, and other non-tech-classified growth names that both VGT and XLK exclude.

In short: VGT is the broad-tech play with the most names, XLK is the concentrated S&P-tech play, and QQQ is the Nasdaq growth basket that reaches outside the tech sector. The most important distinction is the GICS rule. If you want Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta in your tech exposure, neither VGT nor XLK gives you that and QQQ does. If you already own QQQ, layering VGT on top adds breadth in smaller tech names but doubles down on the same mega-cap leaders.

VGT's return comes overwhelmingly from price appreciation rather than income: the dividend yield is low (around 0.6%) because the largest holdings pay modest yields and most growth-tech names pay nothing at all. As a concentrated sector fund, it tends to run hotter than the broad market in both directions, leading sharply when technology and AI infrastructure are in favor and falling harder when those same names sell off. Its path tracks the fortunes of a handful of mega-caps more closely than a diversified index would.

One thing to understand before buying is that VGT is a single-sector bet, not a diversified portfolio. It carries no meaningful exposure outside technology, and the GICS exclusions mean it misses some of the largest companies people think of as tech. That makes it a higher-volatility, more cyclical holding than a total-market or S&P 500 fund. It is best judged over a full cycle and on total return, with the understanding that the concentration that helps in tech-led years is the same concentration that hurts when the sector rotates out of favor.

VGT tends to work as a satellite tilt rather than a core. A common structure is a broad-market core (VOO or VTI) for diversification, with VGT layered on top to lean harder into technology and AI infrastructure than the core does on its own. Its ultra-low cost and breadth across ~300 tech names make it a clean way to express that tilt in one ticker, which is why it is the largest broad tech sector ETF by assets.

The thing to watch is overlap. If you already own VOO or QQQ, or hold Apple, Microsoft, and NVIDIA directly, VGT stacks more weight onto the exact same mega-caps, so you may be far more concentrated in a few names than you realize. Walnut isn't an investment adviser and this isn't a recommendation, but in conversation Walnut's AI can show you how much VGT overlaps with what you already own and where the tech concentration is piling up across your holdings.

VGT trades on NYSE Arca during US market hours (9:30am to 4:00pm ET) and is available commission-free at every major broker, including Robinhood, Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard, Public, M1, and Webull. Fractional shares are supported at most modern brokers, which also lets the quarterly dividends reinvest automatically as fractional shares (DRIP). Vanguard's own brokerage supports fractional purchases for VGT as a Vanguard fund.

Walnut doesn't replace your broker, it sits on top of it. Connect any major broker and Walnut adds an AI layer that helps you build baskets around VGT, track how your tech exposure is doing against your targets, and rebalance when your allocation drifts.

ETFs are passive bundles; thematic baskets in Walnut let you concentrate within them. If you hold VGT as a core position, these are the themes you might layer on as satellites.

There are three common ways to get VGT exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) of VGT 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 basket in Walnut, so VGT sits alongside other holdings that express the same thesis, with target weights you can rebalance toward. VGT trades like a stock during market hours, so you buy it the same way you would any listed share.

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Whether VGT is a good buy depends less on any single call and more on your time horizon and what you already hold: it tracks MSCI US IMI Information Technology 25/50, 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 VGT a buy?

VGT is the broadest, cheapest pure-tech sector fund, dominated by MSFT, AAPL, and NVDA but missing the Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta that a Nasdaq fund like QQQ includes. It fits as a technology satellite layered on a diversified core, with heavy overlap risk if you already hold VOO, QQQ, or those mega-caps directly.

Whether VGT 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 VGT a buy?

VGT yields ~0.6% as of early 2026, paid by passing through the dividends of its underlying holdings. For the payout schedule, history, and how the distributions are taxed, see VGT dividend: yield and schedule.

QQQ is the Nasdaq-100, which includes large non-tech names across consumer and healthcare, while VGT is a pure information-technology sector fund. VGT is more concentrated in tech and cheaper (around 0.09% vs 0.20%); QQQ is broader but excludes financials. Read the full side-by-side in QQQ vs VGT.

VGT and XLK both target US technology, but VGT holds a broader roster including mid and small-cap tech, while XLK covers only the tech names inside the S&P 500 and is more top-heavy. Fees are similar; VGT gives more breadth, XLK more mega-cap concentration. Read the full side-by-side in VGT vs XLK.

FTEC and VGT are both broad US technology sector funds with heavily overlapping holdings (NVIDIA, Apple, Microsoft) and similar low fees. Differences come down to index provider and the exact roster; neither has a durable edge, so the pick often follows whichever brokerage ecosystem you use. Read the full side-by-side in FTEC vs VGT.

New to funds like VGT? Start with what an ETF is, then how to buy an ETF, or browse the full guide to ETF investing.