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Should iShares Morningstar Mid-Cap ETF (IMCB) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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The iShares Morningstar Mid-Cap ETF (IMCB - Free Report) was launched on 06/28/2004, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Mid Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $713.83 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Mid Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

Why Mid Cap Blend

Mid cap companies have market capitalization between $2 billion and $10 billion. They usually have higher growth prospects than large cap companies and are less volatile than small cap companies. Thus, companies that fall under this category provide a stable and growth-heavy investment.

Blend ETFs usually hold a mix of growth and value stocks as well as stocks that exhibit both value and growth characteristics.

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 0.04%, making it the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.72%.

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 Industrials sector--about 17.40% of the portfolio. Information Technology and Financials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Microchip Technology Inc (MCHP - Free Report) accounts for about 0.59% of total assets, followed by Msci Inc (MSCI - Free Report) and Arista Networks Inc (ANET - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 5.42% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

IMCB seeks to match the performance of the MORNINGSTAR US MID CAP INDEX before fees and expenses. The Morningstar US Mid Cap Index comprises of mid-capitalization U.S. equities.

The ETF return is roughly 1.34% so far this year and it's up approximately 0.92% in the last one year (as of 05/10/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $53.66 and $65.42.

The ETF has a beta of 1.06 and standard deviation of 20.39% for the trailing three-year period. With about 508 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

IShares Morningstar Mid-Cap 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, IMCB is a reasonable option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Blend area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF (VO - Free Report) and the iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF (IJH - Free Report) track a similar index. While Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF has $50.57 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF has $64.99 billion. VO has an expense ratio of 0.04% and IJH charges 0.05%.

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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