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Should iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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If you're interested in broad exposure to the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market, look no further than the iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 05/22/2000.

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $70.87 billion, making it the largest ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

Why Small Cap Blend

There's a lot of potential to investing in small cap companies, but with market capitalization below $2 billion, that high potential comes with even higher risk.

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

Costs

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.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.06%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.54%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Industrials sector--about 16.70% of the portfolio. Financials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Blk Csh Fnd Treasury Sl Agency (XTSLA) accounts for about 1.91% of total assets, followed by Onto Innovation Inc (ONTO - Free Report) and Fabrinet (FN - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 7.52% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

IJR seeks to match the performance of the S&P SmallCap 600 Index before fees and expenses. The S&P SmallCap 600 Index measures the performance of the small capitalization sector of the U.S. equity market.

The ETF has gained about 7.81% so far this year and was up about 5.25% in the last one year (as of 12/12/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $87.61 and $107.68.

The ETF has a beta of 1.14 and standard deviation of 22.23% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 654 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

IShares Core S&P Small-Cap 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, IJR is an outstanding option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Blend segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The Vanguard Small-Cap ETF (VB - Free Report) and the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM - Free Report) track a similar index. While Vanguard Small-Cap ETF has $46.91 billion in assets, iShares Russell 2000 ETF has $57.07 billion. VB has an expense ratio of 0.05% and IWM charges 0.19%.

Bottom-Line

Retail and institutional investors increasingly turn to passively managed ETFs because they offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; these kind of funds are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.

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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