Yahoo Finance 9 Growth Funds That Will Turbocharge Your Portfolio
Get excited about growth.
Growth funds are something investors can actually get excited about. In addition to mining for the stocks and funds that will put your portfolio over the top, growth investing typically involves digging into the most exciting technological and medical advances on the market. Yes, value investing is an important part of a balanced nutritional breakfast, but there also are plenty of gains to be made by buying into explosive small-caps and investing in the world's biggest megatrends. Here are nine funds that'll allow you to do just that.
Vanguard Small-Cap Growth ETF (VBK)
Small-capitalization stocks have a lot more growth potential than their large-cap brethren; after all, it's a lot easier to grow from $1 million to $2 million in revenues than it is to go from $1 billion to $2 billion. But they're risky and volatile, making them difficult investments on a single-stock level. VBK helps reduce that risk by giving investors exposure to 740 small-cap stocks, including the likes of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS) and United Therapeutics Corp. (UTHR).
Expenses: 0.09 percent, or $9 annually for each $10,000 invested
iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF (IWF)
If you'd prefer a much more tested part of the market, iShares' IWF instead focuses on mid- to large-cap companies that are simply expected to grow earnings at a greater clip than their peers. The portfolio is heavily weighted in tech (28 percent), consumer discretionary (21 percent) and health care (16 percent), and features top holdings such as Apple (AMZN), Amazon.com (AMZN) and Alphabet (GOOG).
Expenses: 0.2 percent
PowerShares QQQ Trust (QQQ)
The QQQ is a deranged hybrid of a fund. It tracks the Nasdaq 100 index, which is made up of 100 of the largest non-financial companies in the Nasdaq. Tech takes up a whopping 57 percent of the fund -- including top holdings Apple and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) -- so it's extremely tech-heavy, yet it's also far from being a direct play on the sector either. Still, long-term, it has been a far better performer than the Standard & Poor's 500 index.
Expenses: 0.2 percent
SPDR MFS Systematic Growth Equity ETF (SYG)
The SYG is an actively managed fund that relies on a host of fundamental factors -- earnings, cash flows, competitive position and management ability -- as well as quantitative analysis to select its holdings. That results in some usual suspects like Apple and Amazon, as well as less-expected holdings such as Kroger Co. (KR) and Tyson Foods (TSN). Of note: The SYG has actually doubled the S&P 500's performance since inception in early 2014.
Expenses: 0.6 percent
ARK Web x.0 ETF (ARKW)
ARKW's fund description is a veritable name-dropper of technological trends, investing in companies in cloud computing, big data, wearables and the Internet of Things, among other movements. Yes, this fund carries biggies like Apple and Amazon, but it also holds medical cloud software and web app company Athenahealth (ATHN), as well as education tech firm 2U (TWOU).
Expenses: 0.95 percent
ARK Industrial Innovation ETF (ARKQ)
The ARKQ is an industrial-based counterpart of ARKW, and as such, isn't nearly as sexy. But the fund still has plenty of oomph potential, considering that it invests in players in alternative energy, driverless vehicles, 3D printing and space exploration. Top holding Tesla Motors (TSLA) couldn't be more fitting, and it's joined by chipmaker Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) and vehicle components maker Delphi Automotive (DLPH).
Expenses: 0.95 percent
ISE Cyber Security ETF (HACK)
The PureFunds ISE Cyber Security ETF (HACK) is a much more targeted play than either of the ARK funds, going full bore into cybersecurity-related firms -- so, we're talking antivirus, firewalls, monitoring and the like. Because of its focus, it's a thin fund at just 35 holdings, including CyberArk Software (CYBR) and Proofpoint (PFPT).
Expenses: 0.75 percent
ALPS Medical Breakthroughs ETF (SBIO)
Biotech has taken it on the chin amid worries about drug pricing as well as investors locking in profits. Still, the need for life-bettering and life-saving drugs isn't going away, and SBIO takes advantage of that. The fund invests in companies with treatments in Phase II and/or Phase III U.S. Food and Drug Administration clinical trials, and relies on growth via stock pops on successful trials and eventual FDA approvals. Holdings include Seattle Genetics (SGEN), whose brentuximab vedotin has already been improved to treat relapsed Hodgkin lymphoma.
Expenses: 0.5 percent
WisdomTree Emerging Markets Consumer Growth Fund (EMCG)
As emerging markets grow in wealth, so the story goes, they will be joined by a growing middle class with increasing spending power. EMCG looks to take advantage of that with a heaping helping of consumer stocks, which make up roughly 60 percent of the fund, followed by 14 percent in financials and 12 percent in information technology. Top holdings include international brewer Ambev (ABEV), because what better way to celebrate increased spending power than some suds?
Expenses: 0.63 percent
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