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Should VANGDSP4 VALUE (IVOV) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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If you're interested in broad exposure to the Mid Cap Value segment of the US equity market, look no further than the VANGDSP4 VALUE (IVOV - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 09/09/2010.

The fund is sponsored by Vanguard. It has amassed assets over $867.02 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Mid Cap Value segment of the US equity market.

Why Mid Cap Value

Mid cap companies, with market capitalization in the range of $2 billion and $10 billion, offer investors many things that small and large companies don't, including less risk and higher growth opportunities. Thus they have a nice balance of growth potential and stability.

Value stocks have lower than average price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios. They also have lower than average sales and earnings growth rates. Considering long-term performance, value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in almost all markets; however, they are more likely to underperform growth stocks in strong bull markets.

Costs

When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts in the long term if all other factors remain equal.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.15%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.82%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Financials sector--about 21.50% of the portfolio. Industrials and Real Estate round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Jones Lang Lasalle Inc. (JLL - Free Report) accounts for about 1.01% of total assets, followed by Steel Dynamics Inc. (STLD - Free Report) and East West Bancorp Inc. (EWBC - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 7.33% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

IVOV seeks to match the performance of the S&P MidCap 400 Value Index before fees and expenses. The S&P MidCap 400 Value Index measures the performance of value stocks of medium-size U.S. companies.

The ETF has gained about 34.91% so far this year and is up roughly 48.98% in the last one year (as of 11/15/2021). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $124.39 and $174.86.

The ETF has a beta of 1.26 and standard deviation of 29.15% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 310 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

VANGDSP4 VALUE holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, IVOV is an outstanding option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Value segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The iShares Russell MidCap Value ETF (IWS - Free Report) and the VANGDMC VALUE (VOE - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Russell MidCap Value ETF has $15.10 billion in assets, VANGDMC VALUE has $15.52 billion. IWS has an expense ratio of 0.23% and VOE charges 0.07%.

Bottom-Line

While an excellent vehicle for long term investors, passively managed ETFs are a popular choice among institutional and retail investors due to their low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency.

To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.

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