The 9 Best Growth ETFs to Buy Now

Invesco QQQ Trust

• Assets under management: $158.2 billion
• Dividend yield: 0.7%
• Expenses: 0.20%, or $20 annually for every $10,000 invested

While this is one of the few ETFs on this list that doesn't expressly have "growth" in its name, the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ (opens in new tab), $285.58) is undeniably one of the most popular ways for growth-oriented investors to play the market.

The QQQ is benchmarked to the Nasdaq-100 Index. As such, it is elegantly simple in that it holds the 100 largest equities listed on the popular Nasdaq stock exchange. Tech and biotech companies have gravitated towards this venue over the last few decades. As a result, the current top holdings of this fund read like a who's who of the biggest tech stocks: Apple (AAPL (opens in new tab)), Microsoft (MSFT (opens in new tab)), Amazon.com (AMZN (opens in new tab)) and Google parent Alphabet (GOOG (opens in new tab)) lead the list.

In fact, roughly half of this ETF is allocated towards the tech sector, with another 15% in digital "communication" stocks that include Facebook parent Meta Platforms (META (opens in new tab)).

With massive trading volume and exposure to the top tech stocks in the world, QQQ is a very easy way to include one of the best growth ETFs in your portfolio.

Learn more about QQQ at the Invesco provider site. (opens in new tab)

Vanguard Growth ETF

• Assets under management: $72.4 billion
• Dividend yield: 0.7%
• Expenses: 0.04%

The Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG (opens in new tab), $227.10) may not be as big as the prior Nasdaq fund, but it can definitely hold its own as one of the 15 largest ETFs in the U.S. right now. It's also the leader among dedicated growth ETFs.

As is often the case with Vanguard index funds, the approach here is incredibly simple. There's an index of about 280 popular stocks with a growth flavor created by the Center for Research in Security Prices at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business (opens in new tab). This fund sticks to that list of large and established companies, which is created by screening the universe of major stocks for earnings and revenue growth trends. And since it doesn't require a lot of sophistication, it provides that list of growth-oriented companies at a rock-bottom cost structure.

In many ways, VUG is simply the next layer beyond the big companies in the Nasdaq. You'll get picks like Apple, but also New York Stock Exchange-listed names like payment processor Visa (V (opens in new tab)) or retailer Home Depot (HD (opens in new tab)). That makes it the go-to investment for many folks who are looking for growth companies that are expanding their top and bottom lines.

Learn more about VUG at the Vanguard provider site. (opens in new tab)

Vanguard Small-Cap Growth ETF

• Assets under management: $12.5 billion
• Dividend yield: 0.6%
• Expenses: 0.07%

What if you're not interested in adding on more of the big players on Wall Street, but instead are more intrigued by the small, hungry players who might grow from startups into tomorrow's leaders? If this sounds appealing to you, then consider the Vanguard Small-Cap Growth ETF (VBK (opens in new tab), $208.64)

VBK shares many of the characteristics of the prior large-cap growth fund from Vanguard. Namely, it's super cheap with a simple structure that's easy to understand. The difference is that it puts a cap on how large the components can be and instead seeks out companies with less than $15 billion or so in value. The result is a list of about 700 of these small-cap stocks.

If you're truly interested in growth opportunities in 2023, it may pay to look at the smaller stocks in this fund like oil and gas player Targa Resources (TRGP (opens in new tab)) or machinery manufacturer Graco (GGG (opens in new tab)). After all, many mega-cap stocks classified as growth investments simply cannot double or triple in size with any urgency thanks to their already dominant positions. Instead, it's the next generation of start-ups out there that will be Wall Street's future leaders – and that's what makes VBK one of the best growth ETFs for 2023 and beyond.

Learn more about VBK at the Vanguard provider site. (opens in new tab)

iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF

• Assets under management: $12.3 billion
• Dividend yield: 0.6%
• Expenses: 0.23%

Splitting the difference is the iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IWP (opens in new tab), $87.44). This "goldilocks" growth fund doesn't go for stocks too big to see dramatic expansion, but also doesn't rely on the smallest companies that may be too tiny to survive a significant disruption to their business.

This growth ETF has about 400 stocks in its portfolio, ranging from burrito chain Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG (opens in new tab)) to "athleisure" apparel company Lululemon Athletica (LULU (opens in new tab)) to payroll software firm Paychex (PAYX (opens in new tab)). These are all reasonably established names, but also specialists that haven't yet reached dominant mega-cap status.

As a result, on a sector level it's not as biased towards information technology as other funds on this list are, with only about 27% of assets in this sector. Healthcare stocks come in second at 17%, with industrials close behind at about 16%.

If you're looking for more growth than the big stocks might offer but don't want to take on the larger risks that can sometimes come with younger and less-established corporations, IWP could be one of the best growth ETFs for you.

Learn more about IWP at the iShares provider site. (opens in new tab)

iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF

• Assets under management: $10.0 billion
• Dividend yield: 1.9%
• Expenses: 0.36%

We've sliced up the universe of U.S. stocks by size, but now it's time to look beyond our borders at the other growth opportunities around the globe. That's what the iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF (EFG (opens in new tab), $86.90) does.

For those unfamiliar with the acronym, EAFE stands for "Europe, Australasia and the Far East." In other words, this fund plays the rest of the globe outside of the Americas. But believe it or not, many of the stocks that make up this fund will be as familiar as domestic blue chips to many investors.

There's Swiss biotech giant Roche Holding (RHHBY (opens in new tab)) that makes some of the biggest oncology or immunology treatments in the world, as well as Swiss consumer goods icon Nestle (NSRGY (opens in new tab)) and French luxury goods purveyor LVMH Moët Hennessy (LVMUY (opens in new tab)), to name a few. These corporations can hold their own with their U.S. counterparts, but as they happen to have headquarters overseas, they are excluded from the prior domestic-focused funds.

If you really want to tap into growth, it shouldn't matter what nation a country calls home. With a screening methodology for large stocks that feature above-average sales and profit expansion, EFG is one of the best growth ETFs to add some geographic diversification to your portfolio.

Learn more about EFG at the iShares provider site. (opens in new tab)

iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

• Assets under management: $64.3 billion
• Dividend yield: 4.0%
• Expenses: 0.09%

As the name implies, the iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG, $47.85) is a simple way for investors to get exposure to fast-growing emerging market stocks.

There are more than 2,700 total stocks that make up this index fund. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this includes leaders across Asia with decent name recognition such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) – a new Warren Buffett stock – South Korea's Samsung Electronics and Chinese e-commerce powerhouse JD.com (JD (opens in new tab)), to name a few. But Chinese stocks only represents about 29% of the portfolio, with India (16%) coming in at a distance second. Other "frontier" markets like Thailand (2.3%), Indonesia (+1.9% and South Africa (3.6%) are also represented.

Sector-wise, the emerging markets fund is pretty well-rounded too. The top sector is financial services at about 20% of assets, followed by 19% in technology then 13% in consumer cyclical stocks. You won't find many utilities or consumer staples stocks, to be sure, but that's true of any growth-oriented fund.

There is assuredly risk in emerging markets that don't have quite the financial oversight or developed infrastructure of markets like Europe or the U.S. But these regions could have more upside if they hit their stride. And with a deep lineup of companies, there is enough diversification here to help smooth out some of the bumps along that road to growth.

Learn more about IEMG at the iShares provider site. (opens in new tab)

KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF

• Assets under management: $6.7 billion
• Dividend yield: 0.00%
• Expenses: 0.69%

Moving on to the more targeted funds on our list of the best growth ETFs to buy, the KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF (KWEB (opens in new tab), $30.13) is both a geographically specific fund as well as a sector-specific one.

As you probably guessed, KWEB is comprised only of Chinese tech stocks that are relevant in the digital economy. Some are well-known behemoths like Alibaba Group (BABA (opens in new tab)) or Tencent Holdings (TCHEY (opens in new tab)), but there are also smaller players like social media firm Kuaishou. The total list of holdings is only about 40 or so stocks, but when you're taking such a specific approach that kind of selectivity is natural in any portfolio.

KWEB was looking mighty ugly in October, down nearly 48% for the year-to-date at one point. However, the fund has since surged off its lows thanks to the return of interest in "risk-on" growth investments in China and elsewhere. Now, the KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF isn't doing much worse than the S&P 500 on the year. That could bode well for the outlook of this admittedly niche fund in 2023.

Learn more about KWEB at the KraneShares provider site. (opens in new tab)

SPDR S&P Biotech ETF

• Assets under management: $8.0 billion
• Dividend yield: 0.00%
• Expenses: 0.35%

Looking at other growth-oriented sectors, the continued innovation of biotechnology companies as they launch new gene therapies and next-generation cures makes it another hot area of Wall Street to watch. Sure, a lot of the publicly traded biotech stocks out there are currently unprofitable and are banking on the results of their drug trials to cash in. But when these companies do develop a new blockbuster treatment, the gains for investors can be dramatic – and almost instantaneous.

The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI (opens in new tab), $81.53) is perhaps the best growth ETF to play this trend. This fund is focused on gene editing companies, development-stage drugmakers and other healthcare startups. These stocks carry obvious risks, but XBI is one of the most responsible ways to gain exposure to this subsector of the market because it is widely held and more diversified than other options.

Specifically, it has a deep lineup of 150 or so biotech stocks and regularly rebalances with a goal of making these picks "equal weight." Unlike other funds where a single stock can represent 5% or even 10% of the entire portfolio, no holding is valued at more than about 2% at present.

When it comes to biotechs, you definitely don't want all your eggs in one basket. XBI allows you to play the growth potential here in a diversified way to reduce your risk.

Learn more about XBI at the State Street Global Advisors provider site. (opens in new tab)

Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF

• Assets under management: $3.8 billion
• Dividend yield: 0.31%
• Expenses: 0.75%

The highly specialized Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF (LIT (opens in new tab), $66.41) is a high-tech play on the future, with a focus on electric vehicle (EV) technology that includes fast-charging lithium batteries as well as EV manufacturers.

You may be able to guess that EV icon Tesla (TSLA (opens in new tab)) is part of the portfolio. However, it's not even in the top 10 holdings. Instead, the leaders in LIT's 40-stock portfolio are North Carolina-based lithium stock (opens in new tab) Albemarle (ALB (opens in new tab)) and Japanese battery leader Panasonic (PCRFY (opens in new tab)).

Shares have been under pressure in the "risk-off" environment of 2022, but this lithium ETF has outperformed the market nicely over the last two years or so. And bigger picture, if you think the megatrend of electric vehicle technology is worth investing in, this is the best growth ETF out there to do just that.

The diversified nature of LIT will provide a bit more stability than if you pick an individual battery manufacturer or EV stock. However, keep in mind that this is definitely one of the most focused growth investments you can make, so investors should expect more volatility than diversified funds across a variety of market sectors.

Learn more about LIT at the Global X provider site. (opens in new tab)