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Should IQ U.S. Large Cap ETF (CLRG) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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Launched on 12/13/2017, the IQ U.S. Large Cap ETF is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by New York Life Investments. It has amassed assets over $256.95 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Blend

Companies that fall in the large cap category tend to have a market capitalization above $10 billion. Considered a more stable option, large cap companies boast more predictable cash flows and are less volatile than their mid and small cap counterparts.

Typically holding a combination of both growth and value stocks, blend ETFs also demonstrate qualities seen in value and growth investments.

Costs

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts if all other fundamentals are the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.25%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.46%.

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 22.20% of the portfolio. Information Technology and Healthcare round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Broadcom Inc (AVGO - Free Report) accounts for about 1.25% of total assets, followed by Alphabet Inc-Cl A (GOOGL - Free Report) and Copart Inc (CPRT - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 11.48% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

CLRG seeks to match the performance of the NASDAQ CHAIKIN POWER US LARGE CAP INDEX before fees and expenses. The NASDAQ Chaikin Power US Large Cap Index applies a quantitative multi-factor model that seeks to identify securities that are expected to outperform peers by selecting securities from the Nasdaq US 300 Index.

The ETF return is roughly 6.16% so far this year and it's up approximately 9.59% in the last one year (as of 09/18/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $28.38 and $34.10.

The ETF has a beta of 1.04 and standard deviation of 17.12% for the trailing three-year period. With about 101 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

IQ U.S. Large 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, CLRG is a reasonable option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV - Free Report) and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $353.09 billion in assets, SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $410.34 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and SPY charges 0.09%.

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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