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Should iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF (IWD) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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If you're interested in broad exposure to the Large Cap Value segment of the US equity market, look no further than the iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF (IWD - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on May 22, 2000.

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $68.91 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 fall in the large cap category tend to 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 0.18%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.63%.

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.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Financials sector -- about 20.9% of the portfolio. Industrials and Healthcare round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Berkshire Hathaway Inc Class B (BRK.B) accounts for about 3.01% of total assets, followed by Jpmorgan Chase & Co (JPM) and Alphabet Inc Class A (GOOGL).

The top 10 holdings account for about 18.92% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

IWD seeks to match the performance of the Russell 1000 Value Index before fees and expenses. The Russell 1000 Value Index measures the performance of the large-capitalization value sector of the U.S. equity market.

The ETF return is roughly 3.87% so far this year and it's up approximately 14.48% in the last one year (as of 01/26/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $166.82 and $219.71.

The ETF has a beta of 0.86 and standard deviation of 13.12% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 875 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, IWD is an outstanding option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

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 $76.37 billion in assets, Vanguard Value ETF has $162.92 billion. SCHD has an expense ratio of 0.06% and VTV charges 0.04%.

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.


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