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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.

Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.

If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.

Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.

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 managed by Blackrock, and has been able to amass over $21.64 billion, which makes it the largest ETF in the Style Box - All Cap Value. IUSV seeks to match the performance of the S&P 900 Value Index before fees and expenses.

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.

Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.04% for this ETF, which makes it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 1.98%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

For IUSV, it has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector --about 23.5% of the portfolio --while Financials and Healthcare round out the top three.

Taking into account individual holdings, Microsoft Corp (MSFT) accounts for about 6.78% of the fund's total assets, followed by Apple Inc (AAPL) and Amazon Com Inc (AMZN).

The top 10 holdings account for about 26.57% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has added about 6.02% and is up roughly 7.04% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 08/22/2025), respectively. IUSV has traded between $81.46 and $100.02 during this last 52-week period.

The fund has a beta of 0.88 and standard deviation of 14.72% for the trailing three-year period, which makes IUSV a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 701 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.

iShares U.S. Equity Factor ETF (LRGF) tracks MSCI USA Diversified Multiple-Factor Index and the Fidelity High Dividend ETF (FDVV) tracks Fidelity Core Dividend Index. iShares U.S. Equity Factor ETF has $2.78 billion in assets, Fidelity High Dividend ETF has $6.53 billion. LRGF has an expense ratio of 0.08% and FDVV changes 0.16%.

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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