AGTHX vs. VFIAX: American Funds The Growth Fu or Vanguard 500 Index Fund Admi?
Figures last verified October 31, 2026
The advisor channel's flagship growth fund versus a Vanguard S&P 500 fund. The comparison is incomplete without one number AGTHX's chart hides: the sales load.
| AGTHX | VFIAX | |
|---|---|---|
| Fund | American Funds The Growth Fund of America (Class A) | Vanguard 500 Index Fund Admiral Shares |
| Family | American Funds | Vanguard |
| Category | Large Growth | S&P 500 / Large Blend |
| Type | Active | Index |
| Expense ratio | 0.58% | 0.04% |
| Cost per $10k/yr | $58 | $4 |
| Minimum | $250 | $3,000 |
| Strategy | Multi-manager active growth investing; Capital Group's 'multiple portfolio counselor' system divides the fund among independent managers. | Tracks the S&P 500 — the 500 largest US companies, about 80% of total US market value. |
Load-waived (in a 401(k)), AGTHX is a decent active growth fund competing fairly on its 0.58% fee. Load-paid, the up-to-5.75% front commission means you start nearly 6% behind VFIAX before the manager does anything. Check your share class; the answer flips entirely on it.
About AGTHX
Growth Fund of America is among the largest actively managed funds ever built, and Capital Group's multi-manager system — slicing the portfolio among independent counselors — is a genuinely thoughtful piece of fund engineering that reduces key-person risk and smooths style bets. The 0.58% expense ratio is moderate for active management, and the very-long-term record is respectable.
About VFIAX
This is the direct descendant of the first index fund ever sold to the public — Jack Bogle's 1976 'folly' that now anchors trillions of dollars in retirement money. VFIAX holds the S&P 500 in its market weights and charges 0.04% to do it. Over the decades, that simple recipe has beaten the large majority of professionally managed large-cap funds, which is either embarrassing for the profession or liberating for you, depending on where you sit.
Whichever you pick, the principle is the same one that runs through this whole site: minimize cost, hold for decades, ignore the noise. See how both stack up against the field in our best index funds by category, or run the numbers yourself with the expense ratio calculator.
Expense ratios and minimums drawn from fund provider documentation; last verified October 31, 2026. Editorial opinion, not investment advice. Confirm figures against the official prospectus before investing.