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Should iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF (IWO) 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 Russell 2000 Growth ETF (IWO - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on July 24, 2000.
The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $11.74 billion, making it one of the largest 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.
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. Further, growth stocks have a higher level of volatility 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 0.24%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.79%.
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.
This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector -- about 22% of the portfolio. Healthcare and Industrials round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd (CRDO) accounts for about 1.02% of total assets, followed by Ionq Inc (IONQ) and Fabrinet (FN).
The top 10 holdings account for about 6.91% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
IWO seeks to match the performance of the Russell 2000 Growth Index before fees and expenses. The Russell 2000 Growth Index measures the performance of the small-capitalization growth sector of the U.S. equity market. It is a subset of the Russell 2000 Index, which measures the performance of the small-capitalization sector of the U.S. equity market & approximately 51% of the total market value of the Russell 2000 Index.
The ETF has added about 1.6% so far this year and it's up approximately 11.48% in the last one year (as of 08/12/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $224.16 and $315.36.
The ETF has a beta of 1.15 and standard deviation of 22.95% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 1134 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
iShares Russell 2000 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, IWO is a great 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 S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth ETF (IJT) and the Vanguard Small-Cap Growth ETF (VBK) track a similar index. While iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth ETF has $6.03 billion in assets, Vanguard Small-Cap Growth ETF has $19.12 billion. IJT has an expense ratio of 0.18% 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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Should iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF (IWO) Be on Your Investing Radar?
If you're interested in broad exposure to the Small Cap Growth segment of the US equity market, look no further than the iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF (IWO - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on July 24, 2000.
The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $11.74 billion, making it one of the largest 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.
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. Further, growth stocks have a higher level of volatility 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 0.24%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.79%.
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.
This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector -- about 22% of the portfolio. Healthcare and Industrials round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd (CRDO) accounts for about 1.02% of total assets, followed by Ionq Inc (IONQ) and Fabrinet (FN).
The top 10 holdings account for about 6.91% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
IWO seeks to match the performance of the Russell 2000 Growth Index before fees and expenses. The Russell 2000 Growth Index measures the performance of the small-capitalization growth sector of the U.S. equity market. It is a subset of the Russell 2000 Index, which measures the performance of the small-capitalization sector of the U.S. equity market & approximately 51% of the total market value of the Russell 2000 Index.
The ETF has added about 1.6% so far this year and it's up approximately 11.48% in the last one year (as of 08/12/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $224.16 and $315.36.
The ETF has a beta of 1.15 and standard deviation of 22.95% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 1134 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
iShares Russell 2000 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, IWO is a great 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 S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth ETF (IJT) and the Vanguard Small-Cap Growth ETF (VBK) track a similar index. While iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth ETF has $6.03 billion in assets, Vanguard Small-Cap Growth ETF has $19.12 billion. IJT has an expense ratio of 0.18% 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.