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Should iShares Morningstar Small-Cap Growth ETF (ISCG) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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Looking for broad exposure to the Small Cap Growth segment of the US equity market? You should consider the iShares Morningstar Small-Cap Growth ETF (ISCG - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 06/28/2004.

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $686.18 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

Why Small Cap Growth

With more potential comes more risk, and small cap companies, with market capitalization below $2 billion, epitomizes this way of thinking.

Qualities of growth stocks include faster growth rates compared to the broader market, as well as higher valuations and higher than average sales and earnings growth rates. Additionally, growth stocks have a greater level of risk associated with them. They are likely to outperform value stocks in strong bull markets but over the longer-term, value stocks have delivered better returns than growth stocks in almost all markets.

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 0.06%, making it the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.53%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

ETFs offer a diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Industrials sector--about 22.10% of the portfolio. Information Technology and Healthcare round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Guidewire Software Inc (GWRE - Free Report) accounts for about 0.65% of total assets, followed by Coherent Corp (COHR - Free Report) and Curtiss Wright Corp (CW - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 5.49% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

ISCG seeks to match the performance of the MORNINGSTAR US SML CP BRD GRWTH EXTD ID before fees and expenses. The Morningstar US Small Cap Broad Growth Extended Index comprises of small-capitalization U.S. equities that exhibit growth characteristics.

The ETF has added about 23.26% so far this year and it's up approximately 37.55% in the last one year (as of 12/02/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $40.54 and $54.03.

The ETF has a beta of 1.07 and standard deviation of 23.97% for the trailing three-year period. With about 995 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

IShares Morningstar Small-Cap 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, ISCG is an excellent option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

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 $13.48 billion in assets, Vanguard Small-Cap Growth ETF has $20.44 billion. IWO has an expense ratio of 0.24% and VBK charges 0.07%.

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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