For many advisors, building a growth allocation increasingly can mean allocating more capital to the same handful of mega-cap technology stocks. While these companies have delivered impressive returns, their dominance within major growth benchmarks may create significant overlap among growth portfolios.Key Takeaways:
Traditional growth allocations have become increasingly concentrated in a small number of mega-cap technology stocks.
Hypergrowth Investing focuses on companies generating year over year revenue growth of 40% or more, regardless of sector or market capitalization.
The Golden Eagle Dynamic Hypergrowth ETF (HYP) is designed to offer
differentiated growth exposure beyond the major indices and the “Magnificent 7.”
As a result, investors seeking growth exposure often find themselves relying on the same drivers of performance as everyone else. This concentration has left many advisors searching for additional sources of growth that can complement traditional growth strategies while reducing dependence on a small group of market leaders. The challenge is not finding growth. It is finding differentiated growth.
While many companies grow, relatively few achieve revenue growth of 40% or more.¹ Golden Eagle Strategies, LLC defines these companies as Hypergrowth Stocks, creating a practical framework for identifying businesses experiencing exceptional revenue growth. That distinction can result in exposure to a meaningfully different set of companies than those typically found in traditional growth strategies.Beyond the Traditional IndexAccording to research from Golden Eagle, Hypergrowth Stocks often sit outside traditional benchmark indices, such as the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500. About 2% of these companies have been represented in the S&P 500, and 5% in the Nasdaq 100, on average between 2009 and 2025. Many have not yet reached the size, profitability, or other eligibility requirements necessary for inclusion.²
By investing in Hypergrowth Stocks, investors can gain exposure to a differentiated segment of the equity market, potentially enhancing portfolio diversification while maintaining a growth-oriented allocation. This may be particularly valuable, given the significant overlap that frequently exists among traditional growth strategies.HYP: A Closer LookThose who are interested in seeing the Hypergrowth approach in action may want to take a look at the Golden Eagle Dynamic Hypergrowth ETF (HYP). HYP is an actively managed ETF run by the team at Golden Eagle that seeks to invest in Hypergrowth Stocks with the potential for significant long-term capital appreciation. The ETF operates with an expense ratio of 85 basis points.
Here’s how it works: HYP seeks companies achieving a year-over-year revenue growth of 40% or higher. Because of the HYP screening approach, it is not just another “big tech” fund: It screens companies across all sectors, targeting business acceleration, not simply the trendy tech names. By focusing on exceptional revenue growth rather than market capitalization or sector classification, HYP seeks to capture emerging growth leaders wherever they arise, providing investors with exposure to a broader and more diversified segment of the growth universe.
Golden Eagle’s research, drawn from approximately 250,000 stock-performance periods dating back to 2009, quantifies the historical reward for owning the segment. The firm’s study found that U.S.-listed companies with revenue growth above 40% delivered an annualized return of about 43% from 2009 to 2025, compared with roughly 15% for the broader S&P 500 over the same period.³ Those figures are retrospective and illustrative of the asset class studied, not a representation of any fund’s performance, and past results do not predict future returns. What they do illustrate is why a measurable, rules-based definition of Hypergrowth can be a useful lens for the part of a growth allocation that is hardest to reach.Diversification Across Market Caps and SectorsAs an example, HYP’s Q3 2026 holdings showcased a significant lean towards the materials sector and mining stocks — which are not often looked at as growth stocks. However, this sector and its member equities saw significant revenue growth this year. This kind of dynamic approach can lead the portfolio into areas often overlooked by traditional growth investors.
“Allocators are often surprised when they hear we have significant materials, industrials or energy exposure” said Marc Zuccaro, managing principal & portfolio manager at Golden Eagle Strategies. “But we are investing in areas that are currently undergoing a hyper-growth phase, and that often includes stocks not traditionally categorized as growth.”
HYP’s diversified approach to growth goes deeper than sector exposures. The fund invests in companies across the capitalization spectrum. This cap-agnostic approach further helps HYP differentiate itself from more traditional growth strategies. That said, it’s crucial to note that from a historical perspective, Golden Eagle’s Hypergrowth strategy has leaned towards large-cap stocks.
As of September 29, 2026, HYP had 60 holdings. The largest position in the fund portfolio was Iovance Biotherapeutics. Despite being the top holding in HYP’s portfolio, it only accounted for 3.93% of the fund’s overall weight.³
This balanced approach lets HYP tap into growth from a multitude of different stocks without being beholden to any single position. Also of note, the portfolio has had no exposure to the Magnificent Seven as of September 30, 2026, underscoring HYP’s differentiated approach to growth investing.The Role of Hypergrowth Stocks in a PortfolioGolden Eagle designed HYP to serve as a high-growth satellite exposure, a differentiated strategy that aims to complement traditional index, sector or income-based allocations.⁴ Golden Eagle believes HYP is best suited to investors with a long-term horizon, who understand that higher growth potential may go hand in hand with higher volatility. As a result, investors seeking exposure to Hypergrowth Stocks should generally expect a different risk-return profile than traditional growth allocations.
“Over the long-term, we like the volatility that we invest in,” Zuccaro added. “We view volatility as a performance engine because, according to our research, upside volatility has been historically much greater than downside volatility. The key is discipline and patience.”
This perspective also helps explain why HYP may complement a traditional growth allocation. Investors can pair a traditional indexed growth strategy with HYP to access an additional source of growth exposure through a differentiated universe of companies. The result may be a broader growth allocation with return drivers that can differ from those of traditional benchmark-oriented growth strategies.Ignoring the Near-Term NoiseNaturally, many advisors and investors began looking to recalibrate their portfolios after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates in September. This should not be a particular surprise, given that this was the first time the central bank had done so in over three years.
Rates being on the rise may have led some investors to become more cautious and pivot towards more risk-averse approaches. Focusing too heavily on short-term market conditions, though, can create its own risks. Market timing rarely turns out well, and those who sit on the sidelines too long may miss out on growth opportunities. This includes both ongoing trends and new growth prospects that could emerge in the coming months.
If advisors and investors focus too much on near-term market fluctuations, they may risk missing exposure to companies and sectors that may offer the most potential when the market gets back on track. By the time the market fully recognizes the potential of many Hypergrowth Stocks, a meaningful portion of the opportunity may have already been captured.
“I think people’s attention continues to be pulled towards negative headlines, many of which have no real long-term bearing on the relative prices of stocks in the portfolio,” Zuccaro noted. “There is this mentality that rising interest rates hurt the long duration stocks the most, the growth stocks. That can be true on a short-term basis, but we believe you should stay exposed to that growth if you want to outperform over the long term. Inflationary pressures actually underscore the need to have a strong growth position in your portfolio, since the need to stay ahead of the market increases.”
As an ETF, HYP has been on the market for a little over a year now. Golden Eagle’s experience with Hypergrowth Stocks extends well beyond the fund’s inception. As a pioneer in Hypergrowth Investing, the firm has applied this strategy across a wide range of market conditions while developing a rigorous research framework for identifying and studying Hypergrowth Stocks. The firm shares insights through its published research.
As of the end of September, HYP has shown a net return of nearly 24% year-to-date, outperforming both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 over the same period.⁴ The fund’s performance to date highlights how a differentiated universe of Hypergrowth Stocks can provide exposure to opportunities that may not be fully captured by traditional growth indexes and many of the strategies benchmarked to them. For advisors, that offers another tool for building more diversified growth allocations.
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The performance data quoted represents past performance and does not guarantee future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that shares, when sold or redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted. For the most recent month-end performance, please call (855) 994-4866 or visit HypergrowthETF.com.
¹ Source: Golden Eagle Strategies Hypergrowth Trend Report, March 2026, Bloomberg-sourced, 2009 to 2025.
² Source: Golden Eagle Dynamic Hypergrowth ETF fund page, full holdings as of 9/30/2026.
³ Source: Golden Eagle Strategies research, Bloomberg-sourced, 2009 to 2025 averages.
⁴ Source: Golden Eagle Dynamic Hypergrowth ETF fund page, Fund introduction, strategy description and hypergrowth definition, accessed 10/15/2026.
Golden Eagle Strategies, LLC is an independent company unaffiliated with VettaFi LLC (“VettaFi”). These articles do not form any kind of legal partnership, agency affiliation, or similar relationship between VettaFi and Golden Eagle Strategies, LLC, nor is such a relationship created or implied by the articles herein. VettaFi LLC is the author and owner of these articles.
Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. The Fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses must be considered carefully before investing. The prospectus and summary prospectus contain this and other important information about the investment company, and they may be obtained by calling 855.994.4866 or visiting hypergrowthetf.com/hyp-etf. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing. Distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC.
