An analysis comparing Vanguard's Russell 1000 Growth ETF (VONG) and Morningstar Small-Cap Growth ETF (VBK) highlights VBK's strong recent performance, with a 21% year-to-date gain in 2026, significantly outpacing VONG's 0.3% year-to-date return. While VONG, heavily weighted towards mega-cap technology (e.g., Nvidia, Apple), has shown superior long-term annualized returns over 3, 5, and 10 years, VBK, with its diversified small-cap focus, is currently experiencing one of its best runs since 1991. The analysis suggests VBK appears to be the better buy for 2026, despite VONG's historical outperformance, due to the current market favoring small-cap growth prospects. VBK also has a slightly lower expense ratio of 0.05% compared to VONG's 0.06%.