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Should iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF (IJK) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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If you're interested in broad exposure to the Mid Cap Growth segment of the US equity market, look no further than the iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF (IJK - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 07/24/2000.

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $8.20 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the Mid Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

Why Mid Cap Growth

Compared to large and small cap companies, mid cap businesses tend to have higher growth prospects and are less volatile, respectively, with market capitalization between $2 billion and $10 billion. 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. Further, growth stocks have a higher level of volatility associated with them. When you consider growth versus value, growth stocks are usually the clear winner in strong bull markets but tend to fall flat in nearly all other environments.

Costs

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.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.17%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.04%.

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.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Industrials sector--about 26.80% of the portfolio. Consumer Discretionary and Healthcare round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Axon Enterprise Inc (AXON - Free Report) accounts for about 1.39% of total assets, followed by Reliance Steel & Aluminum (RS - Free Report) and Builders Firstsource Inc (BLDR - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 11.49% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

IJK seeks to match the performance of the S&P MidCap 400 Growth Index before fees and expenses. The S&P MidCap 400 Growth Index measures the performance of the mid-capitalization growth sector of the U.S. equity market.

The ETF has gained about 13.91% so far this year and is up roughly 14.79% in the last one year (as of 07/25/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $62.35 and $77.81.

The ETF has a beta of 1.09 and standard deviation of 21.79% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 247 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

IShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth 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, IJK is a great option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth ETF (VOT - Free Report) and the iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IWP - Free Report) track a similar index. While Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth ETF has $11.23 billion in assets, iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF has $13.39 billion. VOT has an expense ratio of 0.07% and IWP charges 0.23%.

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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