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Should iShares S&P MidCap 400 Growth ETF (IJK) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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If you're interested in broad exposure to the Mid Cap Growth segment of the US equity market, look no further than the iShares S&P MidCap 400 Growth ETF (IJK - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 07/24/2000.

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $8.39 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the Mid Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

Why Mid Cap Growth

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, companies that fall under this category provide a stable and growth-heavy investment.

Growth stocks have higher than average sales and earnings growth rates. While these are expected to grow faster than the broader market, they also have higher valuations. Also, growth stocks are a type of equity that carries more risk compared to others. Compared to value stocks, growth stocks are a safer bet in a strong bull market, but don't perform as strongly in almost all other financial environments.

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 0.17%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.53%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector--about 19.20% of the portfolio. Industrials and Healthcare round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Bio Techne Corp (TECH - Free Report) accounts for about 1.59% of total assets, followed by Cognex Corp (CGNX - Free Report) and Fair Isaac Corp (FICO - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 12.42% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

IJK seeks to match the performance of the S&P MidCap 400 Growth Index before fees and expenses. The S&P MidCap 400 Growth Index measures the performance of the mid-capitalization growth sector of the U.S. equity market.

The ETF has gained about 18.44% so far this year and is up about 32.79% in the last one year (as of 10/25/2021). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $60.53 and $84.06.

The ETF has a beta of 1.09 and standard deviation of 25.85% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 232 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

IShares S&P MidCap 400 Growth ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, IJK is an outstanding option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The Vanguard MidCap Growth ETF (VOT - Free Report) and the iShares Russell MidCap Growth ETF (IWP - Free Report) track a similar index. While Vanguard MidCap Growth ETF has $12.22 billion in assets, iShares Russell MidCap Growth ETF has $16.58 billion. VOT has an expense ratio of 0.07% and IWP charges 0.23%.

Bottom-Line

Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are 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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