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

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

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.

Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.

If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.

This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix of such characteristics.

Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

Managed by New York Life Investments, CLRG has amassed assets over $279.70 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. CLRG, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the NASDAQ CHAIKIN POWER US LARGE CAP INDEX .

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

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 0.25%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

CLRG's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 1.35%.

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.

Representing 24.20% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector; Healthcare and Financials round out the top three.

Taking into account individual holdings, Vertex Pharmaceuticals In (VRTX - Free Report) accounts for about 1.28% of the fund's total assets, followed by Dollar General Corp (DG - Free Report) and Cigna Corp (CI - Free Report) .

Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 12.28% of CLRG's total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has lost about -14.22% and is down about -10.92% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 09/02/2022), respectively. CLRG has traded between $28.65 and $36.15 during this last 52-week period.

The fund has a beta of 1.05 and standard deviation of 24.79% for the trailing three-year period. With about 102 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 $296.39 billion in assets, SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $363 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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