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Should iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth ETF (IJT) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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If you're interested in broad exposure to the Small Cap Growth segment of the US equity market, look no further than the iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth ETF (IJT - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 07/24/2000.

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $5.89 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

Why Small Cap Growth

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.

Growth stocks have higher than average sales and earnings growth rates. While these are expected to grow faster than the broader market, they also have higher valuations. Also, growth stocks are a type of equity that carries more risk compared to others. 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 0.18%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.92%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. 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 21.20% of the portfolio. Consumer Discretionary and Information Technology round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Applied Industrial Technologies In (AIT - Free Report) accounts for about 1.27% of total assets, followed by Fabrinet (FN - Free Report) and Sps Commerce Inc (SPSC - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 10.93% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

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

The ETF return is roughly 4.64% so far this year and is up about 22.66% in the last one year (as of 03/29/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $103.08 and $130.73.

The ETF has a beta of 1.10 and standard deviation of 21.84% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 371 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

IShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth 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, IJT is a sufficient option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Growth area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF (IWO - Free Report) and the Vanguard Small-Cap Growth ETF (VBK - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF has $11.66 billion in assets, Vanguard Small-Cap Growth ETF has $17.31 billion. IWO has an expense ratio of 0.24% and VBK charges 0.07%.

Bottom-Line

An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they 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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