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Is iShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF (IUSV) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Making its debut on 07/24/2000, smart beta exchange traded fund iShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF (IUSV - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Value category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.

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.

There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track 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.

While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

Managed by Blackrock, IUSV has amassed assets over $16.98 billion, making it the largest ETF in the Style Box - All Cap Value. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the S&P 900 Value Index.

The S&P 900 Value Index measures the performance of the large and mid-capitalization value sector of the U.S. equity market.

Cost & Other Expenses

When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor. And, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins in the long term if all other factors remain equal.

Annual operating expenses for IUSV are 0.04%, which makes it one of the least expensive products in the space.

The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.74%.

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 IUSV, it has heaviest allocation in the Financials sector --about 23% of the portfolio --while Healthcare and Industrials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Berkshire Hathaway Inc Class B (BRK.B - Free Report) accounts for about 3.64% of total assets, followed by Jpmorgan Chase & Co (JPM - Free Report) and Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 17.48% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has added about 7.77% and is up roughly 27.21% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 04/01/2024), respectively. IUSV has traded between $71.48 and $90.44 during this last 52-week period.

The ETF has a beta of 0.96 and standard deviation of 15.16% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 747 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

IShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - All Cap Value segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.

Capital Group Dividend Value ETF (CGDV - Free Report) tracks ---------------------------------------- and the Dimensional U.S. Targeted Value ETF (DFAT - Free Report) tracks ----------------------------------------. Capital Group Dividend Value ETF has $7.01 billion in assets, Dimensional U.S. Targeted Value ETF has $10.05 billion. CGDV has an expense ratio of 0.33% and DFAT charges 0.28%.

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 Value.

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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