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Is iShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF (IUSV) 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. Value ETF (IUSV - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Value category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.

A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.

There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.

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.

This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

Managed by Blackrock, IUSV has amassed assets over $14.51 billion, making it the largest ETF in the Style Box - All Cap Value. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the S&P 900 Value Index.

The S&P 900 Value Index measures the performance of the large and mid-capitalization value sector of the U.S. equity market.

Cost & Other Expenses

Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.

Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.04% for IUSV, making it the least expensive product in the space.

The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.89%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

IUSV's heaviest allocation is in the Financials sector, which is about 19% of the portfolio. Its Information Technology and Industrials round out the top three.

When you look at individual holdings, Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) accounts for about 5.26% of the fund's 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 22.29% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has gained about 14.58% so far this year and is up roughly 22.34% in the last one year (as of 07/19/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $62.61 and $80.30.

The fund has a beta of 0.96 and standard deviation of 16.28% for the trailing three-year period, which makes IUSV a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 710 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

IShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - All Cap Value segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.

Capital Group Dividend Value ETF (CGDV - Free Report) tracks ---------------------------------------- and the Dimensional U.S. Targeted Value ETF (DFAT - Free Report) tracks ----------------------------------------. Capital Group Dividend Value ETF has $2.66 billion in assets, Dimensional U.S. Targeted Value ETF has $8.54 billion. CGDV has an expense ratio of 0.33% and DFAT charges 0.28%.

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 Value.

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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