Launched on July 17, 2001, the iShares Russell Mid-Cap ETF (IWR Quick QuoteIWR - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Mid Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $46.09 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the Mid Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

Why Mid Cap Blend

Mid cap companies, with market capitalization in the range of $2 billion and $10 billion, offer investors many things that small and large companies don't, including less risk and higher growth opportunities. Thus, companies that fall under this category provide a stable and growth-heavy investment.

Blend ETFs usually hold a mix of growth and value stocks as well as stocks that exhibit both value and growth characteristics.

Costs

When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts in the long term if all other factors remain equal.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.18%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.29%.

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 Industrials sector -- about 18.4% of the portfolio. Financials and Information Technology round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Robinhood Markets Inc Class A (HOOD) accounts for about 0.79% of total assets, followed by Bank Of New York Mellon Corp (BK) and Howmet Aerospace Inc (HWM).

The top 10 holdings account for about 5.73% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

IWR seeks to match the performance of the Russell MidCap Index before fees and expenses. The Russell Midcap Index measures the performance of the mid-capitalization sector of the U.S. equity market.

The ETF return is roughly 10.16% so far this year and is up about 6.97% in the last one year (as of 12/18/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $74.88 and $98.86.

The ETF has a beta of 1.04 and standard deviation of 16.15% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 820 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

iShares Russell Mid-Cap 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, IWR is a good option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Blend area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF (VO) and the iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF (IJH) track a similar index. While Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF has $89.53 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF has $101.55 billion. VO has an expense ratio of 0.04% and IJH charges 0.05%.

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.