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Is iShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF (IUSG) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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The iShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF (IUSG - Free Report) made its debut on 07/24/2000, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Growth category of the market.
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.
Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option 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.
By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.
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
IUSG is managed by Blackrock, and this fund has amassed over $10.50 billion, which makes it one of the largest ETFs in the Style Box - All Cap Growth. IUSG, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the S&P 900 Growth Index.
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
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 cousins, other things remaining the same.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.04% for IUSG, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
IUSG's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 0.99%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
For IUSG, it has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector --about 43.50% of the portfolio --while Consumer Discretionary and Healthcare round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 13.87% of the fund's total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) and Amazon Com Inc (AMZN - Free Report) .
Performance and Risk
So far this year, IUSG has lost about -30.36%, and is down about -27.51% in the last one year (as of 11/03/2022). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $78.88 and $117.16.
IUSG has a beta of 1.05 and standard deviation of 27.29% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 480 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
IShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - All Cap Growth segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
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 $926.28 million in assets, iShares Morningstar Growth ETF has $1.41 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?
The iShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF (IUSG - Free Report) made its debut on 07/24/2000, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Growth category of the market.
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.
Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option 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.
By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.
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
IUSG is managed by Blackrock, and this fund has amassed over $10.50 billion, which makes it one of the largest ETFs in the Style Box - All Cap Growth. IUSG, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the S&P 900 Growth Index.
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
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 cousins, other things remaining the same.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.04% for IUSG, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
IUSG's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 0.99%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
For IUSG, it has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector --about 43.50% of the portfolio --while Consumer Discretionary and Healthcare round out the top three.
Taking into account individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 13.87% of the fund's total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) and Amazon Com Inc (AMZN - Free Report) .
Performance and Risk
So far this year, IUSG has lost about -30.36%, and is down about -27.51% in the last one year (as of 11/03/2022). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $78.88 and $117.16.
IUSG has a beta of 1.05 and standard deviation of 27.29% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 480 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
IShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - All Cap Growth segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
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 $926.28 million in assets, iShares Morningstar Growth ETF has $1.41 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.