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Should You Invest in the iShares Expanded TechSoftware Sector ETF (IGV)?

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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Technology - Software segment of the equity market, the iShares Expanded TechSoftware Sector ETF (IGV - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 07/10/2001.

Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are excellent vehicles for long term investors.

Sector ETFs also provide investors access to a broad group of companies in particular sectors that offer low risk and diversified exposure. Technology - Software is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 2, placing it in top 13%.

Index Details

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $4.44 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Technology - Software segment of the equity market. IGV seeks to match the performance of the S&P North American Technology-Software Index before fees and expenses.

The S&P North American Expanded Technology Software Index comprises of North American equities in the software industry and select North American equities from interactive home entertainment and interactive media and services industries.

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 0.40%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.01%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

ETFs offer a 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.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector--about 91.70% of the portfolio.

Looking at individual holdings, Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) accounts for about 9.09% of total assets, followed by Adobe Inc (ADBE - Free Report) and Salesforce Inc (CRM - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 56.29% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has added about 1.25% so far this year and is down about -29.25% in the last one year (as of 01/11/2023). In that past 52-week period, it has traded between $241.77 and $371.58.

The ETF has a beta of 1.04 and standard deviation of 33.79% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 119 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

IShares Expanded TechSoftware Sector ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, IGV is a great option for investors seeking exposure to the Technology ETFs segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

Invesco Dynamic Software ETF tracks Dynamic Software Intellidex Index and the SPDR S&P Software & Services ETF (XSW - Free Report) tracks S&P Software & Services Select Industry Index. Invesco Dynamic Software ETF has $179.26 million in assets, SPDR S&P Software & Services ETF has $204.67 million. PSJ has an expense ratio of 0.56% and XSW charges 0.35%.

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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