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Should Vanguard S&P Mid-Cap 400 Value ETF (IVOV) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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The Vanguard S&P Mid-Cap 400 Value ETF (IVOV - Free Report) was launched on 09/09/2010, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Mid Cap Value segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by Vanguard. It has amassed assets over $724.87 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. These types of companies, then, have a good balance of stability and growth potential.

Carrying lower than average price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios, value stocks also have lower than average sales and earnings growth rates. While value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in nearly all markets when you consider long-term performance, growth stocks are more likely to outpace value 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 2.04%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Industrials sector--about 19.70% of the portfolio. Financials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Jabil Inc. (JBL - Free Report) accounts for about 1.26% of total assets, followed by Equity Lifestyle Properties Inc. (ELS - Free Report) and Regal Rexnord Corp. (RRX - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 8.71% 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 -3.58% so far this year and was up about 5.04% in the last one year (as of 10/23/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $73.91 and $88.45.

The ETF has a beta of 1.19 and standard deviation of 21.09% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 301 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 a great 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 $11.35 billion in assets, Vanguard Mid-Cap Value ETF has $14.43 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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