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Is iShares MSCI USA Equal Weighted ETF (EUSA) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Making its debut on 05/05/2010, smart beta exchange traded fund iShares MSCI USA Equal Weighted ETF (EUSA - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Blend category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.

Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.

However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: smart beta.

Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.

While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

The fund is managed by Blackrock. EUSA has been able to amass assets over $246.65 M, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - All Cap Blend. Before fees and expenses, EUSA seeks to match the performance of the MSCI USA Equal Weighted Index.

The MSCI USA Equal Weighted Index represents the MSCI USA Index, measures the performance of equity securities in the top 85% by market capitalization of equity securities listed on stock exchanges in the United States.

Cost & Other Expenses

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.

With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.15%.

It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 1.74%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Most ETFs are very transparent products, and disclose their holdings on a daily basis. ETFs also offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, though it's still important for investors to research a fund's holdings.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector - about 15.40% of the portfolio. Financials and Industrials round out the top three.

When you look at individual holdings, Blk Csh Fnd Treasury Sl Agency (XTSLA) accounts for about 0.40% of the fund's total assets, followed by Walt Disney (DIS - Free Report) and Mercadolibre Inc (MELI - Free Report) .

Performance and Risk

The ETF has added roughly 15.60% so far this year and is up about 6.02% in the last one year (as of 04/01/2019). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $47.02 and $59.92.

EUSA has a beta of 1.07 and standard deviation of 12.07% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 624 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

IShares MSCI USA Equal Weighted ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - All Cap Blend segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

IShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF (ITOT - Free Report) tracks S&P Total Market Index and the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI - Free Report) tracks CRSP US Total Market Index. IShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF has $18.64 B in assets, Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF has $108.90 B. ITOT has an expense ratio of 0.03% and VTI charges 0.04%.

Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - All Cap Blend.

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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