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Should iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IWP) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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Looking for broad exposure to the Mid Cap Growth segment of the US equity market? You should consider the iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IWP - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 07/17/2001.

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $12.05 billion, making it the largest ETFs attempting to match the Mid Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

Why Mid Cap Growth

Mid cap companies, with market capitalization in the range of $2 billion and $10 billion, offer investors many things that small and large companies don't, including less risk and higher growth opportunities. These types of companies, then, have a good balance of stability and growth potential.

While growth stocks do boast higher than average sales and earnings growth rates, and they are expected to grow faster than the wider market, investors should note these kinds of stocks have higher valuations. Also, growth stocks are a type of equity that carries more risk compared to others. Even though growth stocks are more likely to outperform their value counterparts in strong bull markets, value stocks have a record of delivering better returns in almost all markets than growth stocks.

Costs

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 0.23%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.72%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, 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 28% of the portfolio. Healthcare and Industrials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Synopsys Inc (SNPS - Free Report) accounts for about 1.49% of total assets, followed by Dexcom Inc (DXCM - Free Report) and Cadence Design Systems Inc (CDNS - Free Report) .

Performance and Risk

IWP seeks to match the performance of the Russell MidCap Growth Index before fees and expenses. The Russell Midcap Growth Index measures the performance of the mid-capitalization growth sector of the U.S. equity market. It is a subset of the Russell Midcap Index, which measures the performance of the mid-capitalization sector of the U.S. equity market & approximately 47% of the total market value of the Russell Midcap Index.

The ETF return is roughly 6.63% so far this year and is down about -6.74% in the last one year (as of 01/31/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $75.41 and $103.82.

The ETF has a beta of 1.09 and standard deviation of 30.05% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 406 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

IShares Russell Mid-Cap 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, IWP is a good option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Growth area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF (IJK - Free Report) and the Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth ETF (VOT - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF has $7.33 billion in assets, Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth ETF has $9.96 billion. IJK has an expense ratio of 0.17% and VOT charges 0.07%.

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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