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Should You Invest in the iShares U.S. Financials ETF (IYF)?
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Looking for broad exposure to the Financials - Broad segment of the equity market? You should consider the iShares U.S. Financials ETF (IYF - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on May 22, 2000.
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.
Investor-friendly, sector ETFs provide many options to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Financials - Broad is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 2, placing it in top 13%.
Index Details
The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $4.2 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Financials - Broad segment of the equity market. IYF seeks to match the performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Financials Index before fees and expenses.
The Russell 1000 Financials 40 Act 15/22.5 Daily Capped Index measures the performance of the financial sector of the U.S. equity market.
Costs
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts if all other fundamentals are the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.38%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.31%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Financials sector -- about 99.5% of the portfolio.
Looking at individual holdings, Berkshire Hathaway Inc Class B (BRK.B) accounts for about 11.68% of total assets, followed by Jpmorgan Chase & Co (JPM) and Bank Of America Corp (BAC).
The top 10 holdings account for about 48.78% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added about 19.42% so far this year and was up about 19.56% in the last one year (as of 12/23/2025). In that past 52-week period, it has traded between $99.23 and $130.35.
The ETF has a beta of 0.99 and standard deviation of 17.26% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 146 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
iShares U.S. Financials 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, IYF is a great option for investors seeking exposure to the Financials ETFs segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.
Vanguard Financials ETF (VFH) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Financials 25/50 Index and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) tracks Financial Select Sector Index. Vanguard Financials ETF has $13.52 billion in assets, State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF has $53.56 billion. VFH has an expense ratio of 0.09%, and XLF charges 0.08%.
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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Should You Invest in the iShares U.S. Financials ETF (IYF)?
Looking for broad exposure to the Financials - Broad segment of the equity market? You should consider the iShares U.S. Financials ETF (IYF - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on May 22, 2000.
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.
Investor-friendly, sector ETFs provide many options to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Financials - Broad is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 2, placing it in top 13%.
Index Details
The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $4.2 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Financials - Broad segment of the equity market. IYF seeks to match the performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Financials Index before fees and expenses.
The Russell 1000 Financials 40 Act 15/22.5 Daily Capped Index measures the performance of the financial sector of the U.S. equity market.
Costs
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts if all other fundamentals are the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.38%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.31%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Financials sector -- about 99.5% of the portfolio.
Looking at individual holdings, Berkshire Hathaway Inc Class B (BRK.B) accounts for about 11.68% of total assets, followed by Jpmorgan Chase & Co (JPM) and Bank Of America Corp (BAC).The top 10 holdings account for about 48.78% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added about 19.42% so far this year and was up about 19.56% in the last one year (as of 12/23/2025). In that past 52-week period, it has traded between $99.23 and $130.35.
The ETF has a beta of 0.99 and standard deviation of 17.26% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 146 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
iShares U.S. Financials 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, IYF is a great option for investors seeking exposure to the Financials ETFs segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.
Vanguard Financials ETF (VFH) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Financials 25/50 Index and the State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) tracks Financial Select Sector Index. Vanguard Financials ETF has $13.52 billion in assets, State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF has $53.56 billion. VFH has an expense ratio of 0.09%, and XLF charges 0.08%.
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.