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Is iShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF (IUSG) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Making its debut on 07/24/2000, smart beta exchange traded fund iShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF (IUSG - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Growth category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
On the other hand, some investors who believe that it is possible to beat the market by superior stock selection opt to invest in another class of funds that track non-cap weighted strategies--popularly known as smart beta.
This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix of such characteristics.
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
The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $13.59 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs in the Style Box - All Cap Growth. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the S&P 900 Growth Index before fees and expenses.
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
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.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.04% for this ETF, which makes it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 1%.
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.
For IUSG, it has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector --about 35.30% of the portfolio --while Healthcare and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
When you look at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 12.69% of the fund's total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) and Nvidia Corp (NVDA - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 40.17% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has gained about 18.94% and is up about 11.21% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 07/10/2023), respectively. IUSG has traded between $78.88 and $99.02 during this last 52-week period.
IUSG has a beta of 1.05 and standard deviation of 22.12% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 476 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
IShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - All Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
IShares Morningstar U.S. Equity ETF (ILCB - Free Report) tracks MORNINGSTAR US LARGE-MID CAP INDEX and the iShares Morningstar Growth ETF (ILCG - Free Report) tracks MORNINGSTAR US LARGE-MID CP BRD GRWTH ID. IShares Morningstar U.S. Equity ETF has $779.55 million in assets, iShares Morningstar Growth ETF has $1.74 billion. ILCB has an expense ratio of 0.03% 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?
Making its debut on 07/24/2000, smart beta exchange traded fund iShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF (IUSG - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Growth category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
On the other hand, some investors who believe that it is possible to beat the market by superior stock selection opt to invest in another class of funds that track non-cap weighted strategies--popularly known as smart beta.
This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix of such characteristics.
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
The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $13.59 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs in the Style Box - All Cap Growth. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the S&P 900 Growth Index before fees and expenses.
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
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.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.04% for this ETF, which makes it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 1%.
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.
For IUSG, it has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector --about 35.30% of the portfolio --while Healthcare and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
When you look at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 12.69% of the fund's total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) and Nvidia Corp (NVDA - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 40.17% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has gained about 18.94% and is up about 11.21% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 07/10/2023), respectively. IUSG has traded between $78.88 and $99.02 during this last 52-week period.
IUSG has a beta of 1.05 and standard deviation of 22.12% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 476 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
IShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - All Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
IShares Morningstar U.S. Equity ETF (ILCB - Free Report) tracks MORNINGSTAR US LARGE-MID CAP INDEX and the iShares Morningstar Growth ETF (ILCG - Free Report) tracks MORNINGSTAR US LARGE-MID CP BRD GRWTH ID. IShares Morningstar U.S. Equity ETF has $779.55 million in assets, iShares Morningstar Growth ETF has $1.74 billion. ILCB has an expense ratio of 0.03% 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.