Designed to provide broad exposure to the Large Cap Value segment of the US equity market, the Pacer US Cash Cows 100 ETF (COWZ Quick QuoteCOWZ - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on December 16, 2016.

The fund is sponsored by Pacer Etfs. It has amassed assets over $18.30 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Value segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Value

Companies that find themselves in the large cap category typically have a market capitalization above $10 billion. They tend to be stable companies with predictable cash flows and are usually less volatile than mid and small cap companies.

While value stocks have lower than average price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios, they also have lower than average sales and earnings growth rates. When you look at long-term performance, value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in nearly all markets. But in strong bull markets, growth stocks are more likely to be winners.

Costs

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 counterparts, other things remaining the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.49%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.6%.

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 Healthcare sector -- about 21.1% of the portfolio. Information Technology and Energy round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Applied Materials Inc (AMAT) accounts for about 2.71% of total assets, followed by Warner Bros Discovery Inc (WBD) and Newmont Corp (NEM).

The top 10 holdings account for about 21.76% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

COWZ seeks to match the performance of the Pacer US Cash Cows 100 Index before fees and expenses. The Pacer US Cash Cows 100 Index uses an objective, rules-based methodology to provide exposure to large and mid-capitalization U.S. companies with high free cash flow yields.

The ETF has added roughly 5.4% so far this year and is down about 0.81% in the last one year (as of 11/12/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $47.46 and $61.35.

The ETF has a beta of 0.95 and standard deviation of 16.17% for the trailing three-year period. With about 102 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Pacer US Cash Cows 100 ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, COWZ is a reasonable option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) and the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV) track a similar index. While Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF has $70.09 billion in assets, Vanguard Value ETF has $151.87 billion. SCHD has an expense ratio of 0.06% and VTV charges 0.04%.

Bottom-Line

Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are 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.