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Should iShares S&P 500 Value ETF (IVE) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Large Cap Value segment of the US equity market, the iShares S&P 500 Value ETF (IVE - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 05/22/2000.

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $24.14 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Value segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Value

Companies that find themselves in the large cap category typically have a market capitalization above $10 billion. Overall, they are usually a stable option, with less risk and more sure-fire cash flows than mid and small cap companies.

Value stocks are known for their lower than average price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios, but investors should also note their lower than average sales and earnings growth rates. When you look at long-term performance, value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in nearly all markets. But in strong bull markets, growth stocks are more likely to be winners.

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 0.18%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.10%.

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 to the Financials sector--about 18.70% of the portfolio. Information Technology and Industrials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) accounts for about 4.83% of total assets, followed by Berkshire Hathaway Inc Class B (BRK.B - Free Report) and Amazon Com Inc (AMZN - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 20.67% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

IVE seeks to match the performance of the S&P 500 Value Index before fees and expenses. The S&P 500 Value Index measures the performance of the large capitalization value sector of the U.S. equity market. It is a subset of the S&P 500 and consists of those stocks in the S&P 500 exhibiting the strongest value characteristics.

The ETF has gained about 0.19% so far this year and is down about -3.72% in the last one year (as of 03/20/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $128.52 and $159.47.

The ETF has a beta of 0.94 and standard deviation of 20.72% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 411 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

IShares S&P 500 Value ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, IVE is an excellent option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF (IWD - Free Report) and the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF has $48.49 billion in assets, Vanguard Value ETF has $97.23 billion. IWD has an expense ratio of 0.18% and VTV charges 0.04%.

Bottom-Line

While an excellent vehicle for long term investors, passively managed ETFs are a popular choice among institutional and retail investors due to their low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency.

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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