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

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The iShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF (IUSV - Free Report) was launched on 07/24/2000, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Value category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment.

A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.

However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: smart beta.

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.

This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $20.09 billion, making it the largest ETF in the Style Box - All Cap Value. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, 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

Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long-term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins, other things remaining the same.

Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.04% for IUSV, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 2.09%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

IUSV's heaviest allocation is in the Information Technology sector, which is about 22.60% of the portfolio. Its Financials and Healthcare round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 7.86% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) and Amazon Com Inc (AMZN - Free Report) .

IUSV's top 10 holdings account for about 27.77% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has gained about 2.81% and is up roughly 14.27% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 02/12/2025), respectively. IUSV has traded between $84.35 and $100.02 during this last 52-week period.

IUSV has a beta of 0.95 and standard deviation of 14.68% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 707 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.

Dimensional U.S. Targeted Value ETF (DFAT - Free Report) tracks ---------------------------------------- and the Capital Group Dividend Value ETF (CGDV - Free Report) tracks ----------------------------------------. Dimensional U.S. Targeted Value ETF has $11.10 billion in assets, Capital Group Dividend Value ETF has $13.70 billion. DFAT has an expense ratio of 0.28% and CGDV charges 0.33%.

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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