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Should iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF (IJK) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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Looking for broad exposure to the Mid Cap Growth segment of the US equity market? You should consider the iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF (IJK - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 07/24/2000.

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $9.43 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the Mid Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

Why Mid Cap Growth

Mid cap companies, with market capitalization in the range of $2 billion and $10 billion, offer investors many things that small and large companies don't, including less risk and higher growth opportunities. Thus they have a nice balance of growth potential and stability.

While growth stocks do boast higher than average sales and earnings growth rates, and they are expected to grow faster than the wider market, investors should note these kinds of stocks have higher valuations. Something to keep in mind is the higher level of volatility that is affiliated with growth stocks. Even though growth stocks are more likely to outperform their value counterparts in strong bull markets, value stocks have a record of delivering better returns in almost all markets than growth stocks.

Costs

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

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.17%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.93%.

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 26.80% of the portfolio. Consumer Discretionary and Information Technology round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Super Micro Computer Inc (SMCI - Free Report) accounts for about 2.74% of total assets, followed by Deckers Outdoor Corp (DECK - Free Report) and Reliance Steel & Aluminum (RS - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 13.6% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

IJK seeks to match the performance of the S&P MidCap 400 Growth Index before fees and expenses. The S&P MidCap 400 Growth Index measures the performance of the mid-capitalization growth sector of the U.S. equity market.

The ETF return is roughly 15.37% so far this year and it's up approximately 31.26% in the last one year (as of 04/01/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $67.78 and $91.25.

The ETF has a beta of 1.07 and standard deviation of 20.86% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 251 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

IShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth 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, IJK is a great option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth ETF (VOT - Free Report) and the iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IWP - Free Report) track a similar index. While Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth ETF has $12.94 billion in assets, iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF has $15.53 billion. VOT has an expense ratio of 0.07% and IWP charges 0.23%.

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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