# Growth vs value | PIER20 benchmarks

Is the growth factor still beating value, or has the regime rotated?

The growth vs value benchmark compares the Vanguard growth ETF (VUG) with the Vanguard value ETF (VTV), both rebased to 100 at their shared start. A growth line above the value line means growth stocks have outperformed value stocks over the window; below means value is winning. The spread is the live, investable version of the growth-minus-value factor that style-investing research tracks.

As of **11 Aug 2026**, the Growth (VUG) line stands at **1355.9** and the Value (VTV) line at **821.2** (both base = 100 at the shared start). The Growth (VUG) line is up 16.8% over the past year and above its long-run median of 241.7.

## Summary statistics (full history)

| Series | First | Latest | Min | Max |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growth (VUG) | 100.0 | 1355.9 | 69.0 | 1377.0 |
| Value (VTV) | 100.0 | 821.2 | 66.8 | 821.2 |

## Last 24 readings

| Date | Growth (VUG) | Value (VTV) |
|---|---|---|
| Jul 2026 | 1328.0 | 796.2 |
| Jul 2026 | 1334.4 | 798.6 |
| Jul 2026 | 1315.3 | 799.1 |
| Jul 2026 | 1327.7 | 796.4 |
| Jul 2026 | 1339.9 | 792.3 |
| Jul 2026 | 1321.6 | 797.3 |
| Jul 2026 | 1301.9 | 793.9 |
| Jul 2026 | 1302.8 | 790.4 |
| Jul 2026 | 1315.0 | 796.5 |
| Jul 2026 | 1308.1 | 799.1 |
| Jul 2026 | 1279.1 | 801.0 |
| Jul 2026 | 1274.6 | 805.2 |
| Jul 2026 | 1273.0 | 807.7 |
| Jul 2026 | 1272.3 | 812.4 |
| Jul 2026 | 1253.0 | 800.7 |
| Jul 2026 | 1286.6 | 803.4 |
| Jul 2026 | 1300.8 | 801.3 |
| Aug 2026 | 1329.5 | 805.1 |
| Aug 2026 | 1360.2 | 815.6 |
| Aug 2026 | 1354.7 | 816.0 |
| Aug 2026 | 1353.9 | 813.7 |
| Aug 2026 | 1364.9 | 817.2 |
| Aug 2026 | 1361.6 | 819.8 |
| Aug 2026 | 1355.9 | 821.2 |

## How to read this benchmark

**What a positive or negative spread means.** When the VUG line runs above the VTV line, growth stocks are winning. Growth leadership tends to mark falling real rates, technology cycles and stable macro regimes. When value leads, investors are being paid for taking leverage and cyclicality, typically during recoveries, rising-rate regimes or commodity booms. The post-2014 growth leadership is one of the most protracted in modern history.

**Why Vanguard growth and value ETFs.** VUG and VTV split the US large-cap universe into growth and value style buckets using a consistent, rules-based methodology. Using a paired style family from the same issuer keeps the comparison clean: both ETFs draw from the same parent universe and rebalance on the same schedule, so the spread isolates the style factor rather than mixing in issuer or methodology noise.

**Limitations.** Growth and value style definitions vary across index providers, so this spread moves differently from growth-value spreads built on MSCI, FTSE or S&P style indexes. VUG and VTV overlap somewhat at the boundaries, since style classification is fuzzy. The window begins in 2004 when the ETFs launched, missing the 1990s growth and 2000s value cycles. Treat the chart as context for the style factor, not investment advice.

**Historical extremes.** On the rebased scale (100 at January 2004), VUG has climbed to roughly 1,279 while VTV sits near 801, so growth leads by roughly 60 percentage points. Both bottomed together in March 2009 at the financial-crisis low. Value briefly outperformed during the 2016-2017 reflation and again in late 2021 through 2022 when rate hikes compressed growth multiples, but each value comeback reversed within a year or two. VTV is currently at its all-time rebased high.

## How this benchmark is used

**Style rotation positioning.** Style-rotation funds and equity allocators use the growth-minus-value spread as the headline gauge of which equity style is being rewarded. Sustained growth leadership supports growth-tilted portfolios; value comebacks support shifting toward financials, energy and industrials. The spread's direction over a six-to-twelve-month window matters more than the level.

**Real-yield regime decomposition.** Growth stocks carry long-duration cash flows, so they are especially sensitive to real yields. Allocators track the growth-value spread alongside the 10-year real yield (proxied in the ten-year-yield-vs-inflation benchmark) to separate growth leadership driven by earnings from growth leadership driven by falling discount rates. When growth leads while real yields fall, the discount-rate channel is doing the work.

**Concentration and mega-cap tech attribution.** Because VUG is heavily weighted toward mega-cap technology, sustained growth leadership can mean either broad growth strength or just a handful of tech giants doing all the work. Allocators cross-reference this spread with the equal-vs-cap-weight benchmark to distinguish broad growth leadership from mega-cap concentration.

## Frequently asked questions

**What is the current growth vs value?**

As of 11 Aug 2026, the Growth (VUG) line stands at 1355.9 and the Value (VTV) line at 821.2 (both base = 100 at the shared start). The Growth (VUG) line is up 16.8% over the past year and above its long-run median of 241.7.

**How often is this benchmark updated?**

This benchmark is built on daily data. The page is refreshed when the source publishes new observations; the freshness block below the chart shows the exact data-through date and when PIER20 last fetched the file.

**What data sources does this chart use?**

The chart is built from Growth (VUG) and Value (VTV), sourced from Yahoo Finance.

**Has growth beaten value over this window?**

Yes, and decisively. Since January 2004 the VUG line has risen to roughly 1,279 on the rebased scale while the VTV line sits near 801, so growth leads by roughly 60 percentage points. Value briefly outperformed during the 2016-2017 reflation and again in late 2021 through 2022 when rate hikes compressed growth multiples, but each value comeback reversed within a year or two.

**What does the growth minus value spread mean?**

The summary callout measures how much the VUG line has outperformed (positive) or underperformed (negative) the VTV line over the selected window, expressed as a percentage. A positive reading means growth stocks have beaten value stocks; a negative reading would mean value has won. The spread is computed over whichever range you have selected.

**When does value typically beat growth?**

Value leadership historically clusters in recoveries when cyclicals and financials rebound, in rising-rate regimes when long-duration growth multiples compress, and during commodity booms when energy and materials lead. The 2016-2017 reflation and the 2022 rate-hike cycle were clear value comebacks. Each reversed within one to two years as growth leadership reasserted.

**How is this different from the size factor?**

Growth vs value compares two style buckets (growth and value) of the same large-cap universe, isolating the style factor. Large vs small compares two different size universes (Russell 2000 and S&P 500), isolating the size factor. The two are independent: growth can beat value while small caps beat large, or vice versa, depending on which factors are working.

## Methodology

- Formula: VUG and VTV adjusted close indexed to 100 at the shared start
- Frequency: Daily
- Sources: Growth (VUG) https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/VUG; Value (VTV) https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/VTV. Data via Yahoo Finance.
- Data through: 11 Aug 2026
- Last refreshed: 11 Aug 2026

## Related benchmarks

- [US vs international equities](https://pier20.com/benchmarks/us-vs-international)
- [Large caps vs small caps](https://pier20.com/benchmarks/large-vs-small-cap)
- [Nasdaq-100 vs broad market](https://pier20.com/benchmarks/nasdaq-vs-broad-market)
- [Equal-weight vs cap-weight](https://pier20.com/benchmarks/equal-vs-cap-weight)

Full interactive chart: https://pier20.com/benchmarks/growth-vs-value
Disclaimer: research software output, not investment advice.