Growth is in the eye of the beholder, or in other terms, investors know growth when they see it. Either way, growth investing means different things to different investors...but below are blue-chip ETFs with growth on their agenda, writes Jim Lowell of Forbes ETF Advisor.

You’ve heard me talking about my preference for battleship balance sheets, with a heavy emphasis on US multinationals. There are so many ways to pursue that course that I want to be certain you know as much as you can about the ships that make up that fleet.

This month, I’m emphasizing large-cap growth ETFs. Is there such a thing as a classic definition of “growth”?

Yes. Growth stocks tend to be companies that are growing, and I’m not being facetious. Companies that are growing can be contrasted with traditional value stocks that are defined more by the way they’re valued. They tend to gain when the market cycle corrects and/or the market corrects the price.

Of course, the definitions of what constitutes "value” comingles growth and value stocks, and vehicles that can move a bit more dynamically along that line tend to interest me more than style specific adherents. My bias is posited in the form of the preponderance of my Buy ratings.

Let’s take a look.

First Trust US IPO (FPX)
Seeks investment results that correspond to the price and yield performance of the IPOX-100 US Index, which measures the performance of US IPOs during the first 1,000 trading days.

The index includes the 100 largest and most liquid US IPOs from the IPOX Global Composite Index. It began trading in April 2006, and has a market value of close to $20 million.

The top three sectors are information technology (24.6%), consumer discretionary (22.9%), and consumer staples (17.9%). The top ten holdings are Visa, Philip Morris Int’l, GM, Kinder Morgan, Lorillard, Discovery Financial Services, Michael Kors Holdings, Mead Johnson Nutrition, Marathon Petroleum, Dollar General.

iShares Russell 3000 Growth (IWZ)
Seeks investment results that correspond to the price and yield performance of the Russell 3000 Growth Index, which is made up of companies from the Russell 3000 Index with high price-to-book ratios and a high potential for growth. It began trading in July 2000, and has a market value of over $330 million.

The top three sectors are technology (25.8%), consumer discretionary (16.6%), and producer durables (13.7%). The top ten holdings are Apple, Exxon Mobil, IBM, Microsoft, Google, Coca-Cola, Philip Morris Int’l, Oracle, Schlumberger, and McDonalds.

iShares S&P 500 Growth (IVW)
Seeks investment results that correspond to the price and yield performance of the S&P 500 Growth Index, which is made up of stocks from the S&P 500 that display strong growth capabilities. It began trading in May 2000, and has a market value of close to $7 billion.

The top three sectors are information technology (27%), health care (15%), and consumer staples (13.4%). The top ten holdings are Apple, Exxon Mobil, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Coca-Cola, Google, Philip Morris Int’l, Microsoft, Proctor & Gamble, and Chevron.

PowerShares Dynamic Large Cap Growth (PWB)
Seeks investment results that correspond to the price and yield performance of the Dynamic Large Cap Growth Intellidex Index, which seeks to maintain correct market exposure at all times. Currently, 94% of assets are invested in large growth investments. It began trading in March 2005, and has a market value of $180 million.

The top three sectors are information technology (30.9%), consumer discretionary (25.8%), and consumer staples (16.2%). The top ten holdings are Apple, Visa, Home Depot, EMC, Qualcomm, Union Pacific, MasterCard, Nike, Philip Morris Int’l, and UPS.

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