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Is iShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF (IUSG) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Launched on 07/24/2000, the iShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF (IUSG - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Growth category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.
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.
Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.
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 sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $11.70 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs in the Style Box - All Cap Growth. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the S&P 900 Growth Index before fees and expenses.
The S&P 900 Growth Index measures the performance of the large and mid-capitalization growth sector of the U.S. equity market.
Cost & Other Expenses
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.
Annual operating expenses for IUSG are 0.04%, which makes it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 0.81%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
ETFs offer diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk, but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
IUSG's heaviest allocation is in the Information Technology sector, which is about 45.90% of the portfolio. Its Healthcare and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 12.83% of the fund's total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) and Amazon Com Inc (AMZN - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 49.94% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, IUSG has lost about -20.73%, and is down about -13.33% in the last one year (as of 08/29/2022). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $80.61 and $117.16.
The fund has a beta of 1.06 and standard deviation of 26.31% for the trailing three-year period, which makes IUSG a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 480 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
IShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - All Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF (FPX - Free Report) tracks IPOX-100 U.S. Index and the iShares Morningstar Growth ETF (ILCG - Free Report) tracks MORNINGSTAR US LARGE-MID CP BRD GRWTH ID. First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF has $1.09 billion in assets, iShares Morningstar Growth ETF has $1.67 billion. FPX has an expense ratio of 0.57% and ILCG 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 Growth.
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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Is iShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF (IUSG) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Launched on 07/24/2000, the iShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF (IUSG - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Growth category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.
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.
Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.
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 sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $11.70 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs in the Style Box - All Cap Growth. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the S&P 900 Growth Index before fees and expenses.
The S&P 900 Growth Index measures the performance of the large and mid-capitalization growth sector of the U.S. equity market.
Cost & Other Expenses
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.
Annual operating expenses for IUSG are 0.04%, which makes it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 0.81%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
ETFs offer diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk, but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
IUSG's heaviest allocation is in the Information Technology sector, which is about 45.90% of the portfolio. Its Healthcare and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 12.83% of the fund's total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) and Amazon Com Inc (AMZN - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 49.94% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, IUSG has lost about -20.73%, and is down about -13.33% in the last one year (as of 08/29/2022). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $80.61 and $117.16.
The fund has a beta of 1.06 and standard deviation of 26.31% for the trailing three-year period, which makes IUSG a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 480 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
IShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - All Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF (FPX - Free Report) tracks IPOX-100 U.S. Index and the iShares Morningstar Growth ETF (ILCG - Free Report) tracks MORNINGSTAR US LARGE-MID CP BRD GRWTH ID. First Trust US Equity Opportunities ETF has $1.09 billion in assets, iShares Morningstar Growth ETF has $1.67 billion. FPX has an expense ratio of 0.57% and ILCG 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 Growth.
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.