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Should You Invest in the iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF (IYM)?
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The iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF (IYM - Free Report) was launched on 06/12/2000, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Materials - Broad segment of the equity market.
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.
Sector ETFs are also funds of convenience, offering many ways to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Materials - Broad is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 5, placing it in top 31%.
Index Details
The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $746.66 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Materials - Broad segment of the equity market. IYM seeks to match the performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Basic Materials Index before fees and expenses.
The Russell 1000 Basic Materials RIC 22.5/45 Capped Gross Index measures the performance of the basic materials sector of the U.S. equity market.
Costs
Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.41%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.50%.
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 in the Materials sector--about 93% of the portfolio.
Looking at individual holdings, Air Products And Chemicals Inc (APD - Free Report) accounts for about 9.76% of total assets, followed by Freeport Mcmoran Inc (FCX - Free Report) and Ecolab Inc (ECL - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 61.34% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has lost about -0.60% so far this year and is up about 15.84% in the last one year (as of 01/11/2022). In that past 52-week period, it has traded between $111.16 and $141.73.
The ETF has a beta of 1.16 and standard deviation of 26.70% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 41 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.
Alternatives
IShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, IYM is a sufficient option for those seeking exposure to the Materials ETFs area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.
FlexShares Morningstar Global Upstream Natural Resources ETF (GUNR - Free Report) tracks Morningstar Global Upstream Natural Resources Index and the Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLB - Free Report) tracks Materials Select Sector Index. FlexShares Morningstar Global Upstream Natural Resources ETF has $6.65 billion in assets, Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF has $8.43 billion. GUNR has an expense ratio of 0.46% and XLB charges 0.12%.
Bottom Line
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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Should You Invest in the iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF (IYM)?
The iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF (IYM - Free Report) was launched on 06/12/2000, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Materials - Broad segment of the equity market.
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.
Sector ETFs are also funds of convenience, offering many ways to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Materials - Broad is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 5, placing it in top 31%.
Index Details
The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $746.66 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Materials - Broad segment of the equity market. IYM seeks to match the performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Basic Materials Index before fees and expenses.
The Russell 1000 Basic Materials RIC 22.5/45 Capped Gross Index measures the performance of the basic materials sector of the U.S. equity market.
Costs
Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.41%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.50%.
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 in the Materials sector--about 93% of the portfolio.
Looking at individual holdings, Air Products And Chemicals Inc (APD - Free Report) accounts for about 9.76% of total assets, followed by Freeport Mcmoran Inc (FCX - Free Report) and Ecolab Inc (ECL - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 61.34% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has lost about -0.60% so far this year and is up about 15.84% in the last one year (as of 01/11/2022). In that past 52-week period, it has traded between $111.16 and $141.73.
The ETF has a beta of 1.16 and standard deviation of 26.70% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 41 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.
Alternatives
IShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, IYM is a sufficient option for those seeking exposure to the Materials ETFs area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.
FlexShares Morningstar Global Upstream Natural Resources ETF (GUNR - Free Report) tracks Morningstar Global Upstream Natural Resources Index and the Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLB - Free Report) tracks Materials Select Sector Index. FlexShares Morningstar Global Upstream Natural Resources ETF has $6.65 billion in assets, Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF has $8.43 billion. GUNR has an expense ratio of 0.46% and XLB charges 0.12%.
Bottom Line
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.