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Should Vanguard S&P Mid-Cap 400 Value ETF (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 Vanguard S&P Mid-Cap 400 Value ETF (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 $791.62 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 have market capitalization between $2 billion and $10 billion. They usually have higher growth prospects than large cap companies and are less volatile than small cap companies. Thus they have a nice balance of growth potential and stability.

Carrying lower than average price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios, value stocks 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

Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.

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 1.97%.

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 Industrials sector--about 20.60% of the portfolio. Financials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, First Horizon Corp. (FHN - Free Report) accounts for about 1.16% of total assets, followed by Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (RS - Free Report) and Aecom (ACM - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 9.13% 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 lost about -0.29% so far this year and is down about -5.08% in the last one year (as of 04/06/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $69.38 and $88.45.

The ETF has a beta of 1.18 and standard deviation of 25.22% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 293 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Vanguard S&P Mid-Cap 400 Value ETF 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 excellent 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 Mid-Cap Value ETF (IWS - Free Report) and the Vanguard Mid-Cap Value ETF (VOE - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF has $12.47 billion in assets, Vanguard Mid-Cap Value ETF has $15.60 billion. IWS has an expense ratio of 0.23% and VOE charges 0.07%.

Bottom-Line

Retail and institutional investors increasingly turn to passively managed ETFs because they offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; these kind of funds are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.

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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