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Should iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF (IWF) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market, the iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF (IWF - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 05/22/2000.

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $60.65 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 find themselves in the large cap category typically 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.

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. Additionally, growth stocks have a greater level of risk associated with them. They are likely to outperform value stocks in strong bull markets but over the longer-term, value stocks have delivered better returns than growth stocks in almost all markets.

Costs

Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts, other things remaining the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.19%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.66%.

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 Information Technology sector--about 45.80% of the portfolio. Consumer Discretionary and Telecom round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 12.50% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) and Amazon Com Inc (AMZN - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 47.73% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

IWF seeks to match the performance of the Russell 1000 Growth Index before fees and expenses. The Russell 1000 Growth Index measures the performance of the large-capitalization growth sector of the U.S. equity market.

The ETF has lost about -23.28% so far this year and is down about -5.18% in the last one year (as of 05/18/2022). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $224.94 and $309.52.

The ETF has a beta of 1.07 and standard deviation of 26.04% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 505 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

IShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, IWF is a reasonable option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Growth area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG - Free Report) and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ - Free Report) track a similar index. While Vanguard Growth ETF has $70.14 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $166.27 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.04% and QQQ charges 0.20%.

Bottom-Line

An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they 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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