3 Growth ETFs to Buy in 2026 and Hold Until Your Portfolio Hits 7 Figures

• Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) returned 459% over the past decade with a 0.18% expense ratio by concentrating 49% in information technology and holding major semiconductor supply-chain companies like Applied Materials, Lam Research, and KLA alongside Nvidia (9%), Apple (7.5%), and Microsoft (5.9%); Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG) charges just 0.03% while screening across all major U.S. exchanges to add diversification through Eli Lilly (2.7%), Visa, and Mastercard, returning 81% over five years; Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF (SCHG) applies a multi-factor earnings-quality screen at 0.04% cost to include less-traditional growth names like Palantir (1.3%) and GE Aerospace alongside tech holdings.

• Growth ETFs build long-term wealth through systematic exposure to companies with above-average earnings and revenue expansion, with the choice between concentration in AI and semiconductors (QQQ), lower-cost diversification into pharmaceuticals and payments (VUG), or broader earnings-quality screening across industries (SCHG).

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Building a seven-figure portfolio from scratch requires one thing above almost everything else: time in the market, compounded through funds that systematically own the companies driving the economy forward. Growth ETFs are the most direct vehicle for that. They screen specifically for companies with above-average earnings and revenue expansion, filtering out the slow-movers that drag on returns.

The three funds below each have an explicit growth methodology, meaningful track records, and structural differences worth understanding before choosing one. Here’s why they’re buys for those looking to generate seven-figure portfolios over time.

Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) tracks the 100 largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq, which in practice means owning the most dominant growth businesses in the world. Information technology makes up nearly 49% of the fund, with Communication Services adding another 16%. The result is a portfolio built almost entirely around companies whose value comes from future earnings growth rather than current dividends or asset bases.

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The top of the portfolio reads like a who’s-who of the AI and semiconductor cycle. Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) sits at roughly 9% of the fund, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) at 7.5%, and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) at 5.9%. Beyond the mega-caps, QQQ runs deep into the semiconductor supply chain, holding a number of other top names that benefit from every dollar spent building out AI infrastructure. That supply-chain depth is what separates QQQ from a simple tech-heavy fund.

This long-term return record reflects the compounding power of owning this basket. Over the past decade, QQQ has returned 459%. Over the past year alone, ETF’s one-year return stands at 25%. Thus, the tradeoff is concentration – when tech sentiment turns, QQQ feels it more than a broader index. Year-to-date in 2026, QQQ is down about 2%, a reminder that the ride is not linear.

Notably, this ETF’s expense ratio is just 0.18%, reasonable for a fund with $395 billion in assets and institutional-grade liquidity. I think QQQ may appeal to those researching maximum exposure to the companies shaping the next decade of technology who are also researching how to evaluate concentration risk.

Vanguard Growth ETF (NYSEARCA:VUG) uses a rules-based methodology to screen the U.S. equity market for companies with superior earnings growth, sales growth, and return on assets. Where QQQ is defined by its Nasdaq universe, VUG casts a wider net across all major U.S. exchanges, which brings in some names QQQ structurally excludes.

The portfolio carries a similar technology tilt, with Information Technology at 50.6% of holdings, but the growth screening adds meaningful diversification. Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) appears at 2.7% of the fund, giving investors exposure to the GLP-1 pharmaceutical growth cycle. Visa (NYSE:V), and Mastercard (NYSE:MA) together represent about 3% of the portfolio, capturing the structural growth in digital payments. These are companies with durable earnings expansion that simply do not appear in QQQ because of its Nasdaq-only constraint.

The cost structure is where VUG genuinely stands apart. The expense ratio is 0.03%, one of the lowest available for any growth fund. Over decades of compounding, that cost advantage compounds alongside returns in a meaningful way. The fund has been running since 2004, giving it a track record across multiple market cycles including the 2008 financial crisis and the 2020 pandemic crash, and The fund manages $335.9 billion in assets in assets.

VUG returned 21% over the past year and 81% over the past five years. The fund’s portfolio turnover of just 12% reflects a buy-and-hold discipline that keeps transaction costs low and defers capital gains, which matters in taxable accounts. The main caveat is that VUG’s broader mandate means it will track differently from QQQ during periods when Nasdaq leadership is especially strong or weak.

Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF (NYSEARCA:SCHG) applies a multi-factor growth screen to the Dow Jones U.S. Large-Cap Growth Total Stock Market Index, selecting companies based on projected and historical earnings growth, sales growth, and return on equity. The methodology is more explicit about earnings quality than either QQQ or VUG, which makes it worth considering separately.

The fund’s sector breakdown is somewhat more balanced than the other two. Information Technology sits at 44% of the fund, lower than VUG’s 50% and QQQ’s 49%, while Healthcare carries an 8.8% weight and Financials at 7.1%. That healthcare allocation, anchored by Eli Lilly at roughly 3% of the fund, gives SCHG a more diversified growth exposure. The financial services component, which includes Visa, Mastercard, and BlackRock (NYSE:BLK), adds companies with compounding earnings power that do not fit the traditional tech-growth narrative.

SCHG also has a slightly higher allocation to emerging growth names. Palantir (NASDAQ:PLTR) sits at 1.3% of the fund, and GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE) appears as a meaningful industrial growth holding. These positions reflect the index’s willingness to include companies outside the traditional tech mega-cap cluster when the growth metrics justify it.

The cost is nearly identical to VUG at 0.04%, making SCHG one of the cheapest ways to access a diversified growth screen. The long-term return record supports the case (the fund’s ten-year return is 400%, and the one-year return is 19%) suggesting the broader methodology has not come at the expense of performance. The tradeoff relative to the others is scale: at $50 billion in AUM, SCHG is liquid but meaningfully smaller than QQQ or VUG, which can matter in institutional contexts. For those researching long-term growth ETFs, the scale difference is worth noting but may not affect day-to-day trading for most use cases.

QQQ offers the deepest concentration in the AI and semiconductor supply chain, reflecting Nasdaq-level focus. VUG provides growth exposure that extends into pharmaceuticals and payments at one of the lowest expense ratios available. SCHG applies a slightly more diversified growth screen across a broader set of industries at near-zero cost.

Each fund’s methodology and sector weights reflect different expressions of the growth factor, and investors may want to research which structure aligns with their existing portfolio and risk tolerance.

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