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Is IQ Chaikin U.S. Large Cap ETF (CLRG) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend category of the market, the IQ Chaikin U.S. Large Cap ETF is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 12/13/2017.

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.

A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.

But, there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds; these funds track non-cap weighted strategies, and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market.

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.

The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.

Fund Sponsor & Index

CLRG is managed by New York Life Investments, and this fund has amassed over $328.02 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. CLRG seeks to match the performance of the NASDAQ CHAIKIN POWER US LARGE CAP INDEX before fees and expenses.

The NASDAQ Chaikin Power US Large Cap Index applies a quantitative multi-factor model that seeks to identify securities that are expected to outperform peers by selecting securities from the Nasdaq US 300 Index.

Cost & Other Expenses

For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.

With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.25%.

CLRG's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 1.12%.

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.

CLRG's heaviest allocation is in the Information Technology sector, which is about 26.20% of the portfolio. Its Healthcare and Financials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Zscaler Inc (ZS - Free Report) accounts for about 1.64% of total assets, followed by Intuit Inc (INTU - Free Report) and West Pharmaceutical Servi (WST - Free Report) .

CLRG's top 10 holdings account for about 13.06% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

Year-to-date, the IQ Chaikin U.S. Large Cap ETF has lost about -5.48% so far, and is up roughly 12.73% over the last 12 months (as of 02/23/2022). CLRG has traded between $29.90 and $36.15 in this past 52-week period.

The ETF has a beta of 1.09 and standard deviation of 23.44% for the trailing three-year period. With about 104 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

IQ Chaikin U.S. Large Cap ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

IShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV - Free Report) tracks S&P 500 Index and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY - Free Report) tracks S&P 500 Index. IShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $313.44 billion in assets, SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $385.93 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and SPY charges 0.09%.

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 - Large 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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