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Is iShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF (IUSG) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Launched on 07/24/2000, the iShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF (IUSG - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Growth 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.
Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.
If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.
Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.
Methodologies like equal-weighting, one of the simplest options out there, fundamental weighting, and volatility/momentum based weighting are all choices offered to investors in this space, but not all of them can deliver superior returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Blackrock, and has been able to amass over $14.25 billion, which makes it the largest ETF in the Style Box - All Cap Growth. IUSG 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
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 IUSG are 0.04%, which makes it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 1.05%.
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 35.70% of the portfolio --while Healthcare and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 12.35% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) and Nvidia Corp (NVDA - Free Report) .
IUSG's top 10 holdings account for about 43.81% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added about 24.26% and was up about 17.37% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 12/06/2023), respectively. IUSG has traded between $79.81 and $100.86 during this last 52-week period.
IUSG has a beta of 1.04 and standard deviation of 21.24% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 496 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.
Fidelity Blue Chip Growth ETF (FBCG - Free Report) tracks ---------------------------------------- and the iShares Morningstar Growth ETF (ILCG - Free Report) tracks MORNINGSTAR US LARGE-MID CP BRD GRWTH ID. Fidelity Blue Chip Growth ETF has $918.69 million in assets, iShares Morningstar Growth ETF has $1.84 billion. FBCG has an expense ratio of 0.59% 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?
Launched on 07/24/2000, the iShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF (IUSG - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Growth 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.
Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.
If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.
Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.
Methodologies like equal-weighting, one of the simplest options out there, fundamental weighting, and volatility/momentum based weighting are all choices offered to investors in this space, but not all of them can deliver superior returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Blackrock, and has been able to amass over $14.25 billion, which makes it the largest ETF in the Style Box - All Cap Growth. IUSG 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
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 IUSG are 0.04%, which makes it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 1.05%.
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 35.70% of the portfolio --while Healthcare and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 12.35% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) and Nvidia Corp (NVDA - Free Report) .
IUSG's top 10 holdings account for about 43.81% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added about 24.26% and was up about 17.37% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 12/06/2023), respectively. IUSG has traded between $79.81 and $100.86 during this last 52-week period.
IUSG has a beta of 1.04 and standard deviation of 21.24% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 496 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.
Fidelity Blue Chip Growth ETF (FBCG - Free Report) tracks ---------------------------------------- and the iShares Morningstar Growth ETF (ILCG - Free Report) tracks MORNINGSTAR US LARGE-MID CP BRD GRWTH ID. Fidelity Blue Chip Growth ETF has $918.69 million in assets, iShares Morningstar Growth ETF has $1.84 billion. FBCG has an expense ratio of 0.59% 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.