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Should iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF (IVW) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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If you're interested in broad exposure to the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market, look no further than the iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF (IVW - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 05/22/2000.

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $39.88 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Growth

Companies that fall in the large cap category tend to have a market capitalization above $10 billion. They tend to be stable companies with predictable cash flows and are usually less volatile than mid and small cap companies.

While growth stocks do boast higher than average sales and earnings growth rates, and they are expected to grow faster than the wider market, investors should note these kinds of stocks have higher valuations. Also, growth stocks are a type of equity that carries more risk compared to others. When you consider growth versus value, growth stocks are usually the clear winner in strong bull markets but tend to fall flat in nearly all other environments.

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 0.18%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.47%.

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 Information Technology sector--about 43.40% of the portfolio. Consumer Discretionary and Telecom round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) accounts for about 11.55% of total assets, followed by Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) and Amazon Com Inc (AMZN - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 51.09% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

IVW seeks to match the performance of the S&P 500 Growth Index before fees and expenses. The S&P 500 Growth Index measures the performance of the large capitalization growth sector of the U.S. equity market.

The ETF has added roughly 32.30% so far this year and was up about 32.01% in the last one year (as of 12/23/2021). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $61.43 and $83.95.

The ETF has a beta of 0.99 and standard deviation of 23.50% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 246 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

IShares S&P 500 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, IVW is an excellent option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG - Free Report) and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ - Free Report) track a similar index. While Vanguard Growth ETF has $89.32 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $213.26 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.04% and QQQ charges 0.20%.

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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