VB invests in U.S. small-cap stocks, with top holdings like Revolution Medicines and Natera that don't appear in large-cap ETFs. Small caps carry more single-company risk individually, but that risk is diversified away across the whole index.

Interestingly, its 17.4% one-year return and -8.2% max drawdown were actually less severe than the large-cap growth ETF VUG's -15.3%. Since small caps tend to benefit relatively more during rate-cutting cycles, VB is commonly added as a modest satellite position within a broader portfolio.