We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience.
This includes personalizing content and advertising.
By pressing "Accept All" or closing out of this banner, you consent to the use of all cookies and similar technologies and the sharing of information they collect with third parties.
You can reject marketing cookies by pressing "Deny Optional," but we still use essential, performance, and functional cookies.
In addition, whether you "Accept All," Deny Optional," click the X or otherwise continue to use the site, you accept our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, revised from time to time.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Should iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IWP) Be on Your Investing Radar?
Read MoreHide Full Article
Looking for broad exposure to the Mid Cap Growth segment of the US equity market? You should consider the iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IWP - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on July 17, 2001.
The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $20.78 billion, making it the largest ETF attempting to match the Mid Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.
Why Mid Cap Growth
With market capitalization between $2 billion and $10 billion, mid cap companies usually contain higher growth prospects than large cap companies, and are considered less risky than their small cap counterparts. Thus they have a nice balance of growth potential and stability.
Qualities of growth stocks include faster growth rates compared to the broader market, as well as higher valuations and higher than average sales and earnings growth rates. Further, growth stocks have a higher level of volatility associated with them. Even though growth stocks are more likely to outperform their value counterparts in strong bull markets, value stocks have a record of delivering better returns in almost all markets than growth stocks.
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 0.23%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.36%.
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 21.9% of the portfolio. Consumer Discretionary and Information Technology round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Howmet Aerospace Inc (HWM) accounts for about 2.82% of total assets, followed by Royal Caribbean Group Ltd (RCL) and Vertiv Holdings Class A (VRT).
The top 10 holdings account for about 20.78% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
IWP seeks to match the performance of the Russell MidCap Growth Index before fees and expenses. The Russell Midcap Growth Index measures the performance of the mid-capitalization growth sector of the U.S. equity market. It is a subset of the Russell Midcap Index, which measures the performance of the mid-capitalization sector of the U.S. equity market & approximately 47% of the total market value of the Russell Midcap Index.
The ETF has added about 2.17% so far this year and is up about 5.89% in the last one year (as of 01/28/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $104.34 and $145.30.
The ETF has a beta of 1.15 and standard deviation of 18.88% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 286 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth 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, IWP is an outstanding option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.
The iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF (IJK) and the Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth ETF (VOT) track a similar index. While iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF has $9.61 billion in assets, Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth ETF has $18.17 billion. IJK has an expense ratio of 0.17% and VOT charges 0.07%.
Bottom-Line
While an excellent vehicle for long term investors, passively managed ETFs are a popular choice among institutional and retail investors due to their low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency.
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.
See More Zacks Research for These Tickers
Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:
Image: Bigstock
Should iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IWP) Be on Your Investing Radar?
Looking for broad exposure to the Mid Cap Growth segment of the US equity market? You should consider the iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IWP - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on July 17, 2001.
The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $20.78 billion, making it the largest ETF attempting to match the Mid Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.
Why Mid Cap Growth
With market capitalization between $2 billion and $10 billion, mid cap companies usually contain higher growth prospects than large cap companies, and are considered less risky than their small cap counterparts. Thus they have a nice balance of growth potential and stability.
Qualities of growth stocks include faster growth rates compared to the broader market, as well as higher valuations and higher than average sales and earnings growth rates. Further, growth stocks have a higher level of volatility associated with them. Even though growth stocks are more likely to outperform their value counterparts in strong bull markets, value stocks have a record of delivering better returns in almost all markets than growth stocks.
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 0.23%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.36%.
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 21.9% of the portfolio. Consumer Discretionary and Information Technology round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Howmet Aerospace Inc (HWM) accounts for about 2.82% of total assets, followed by Royal Caribbean Group Ltd (RCL) and Vertiv Holdings Class A (VRT).
The top 10 holdings account for about 20.78% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
IWP seeks to match the performance of the Russell MidCap Growth Index before fees and expenses. The Russell Midcap Growth Index measures the performance of the mid-capitalization growth sector of the U.S. equity market. It is a subset of the Russell Midcap Index, which measures the performance of the mid-capitalization sector of the U.S. equity market & approximately 47% of the total market value of the Russell Midcap Index.
The ETF has added about 2.17% so far this year and is up about 5.89% in the last one year (as of 01/28/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $104.34 and $145.30.
The ETF has a beta of 1.15 and standard deviation of 18.88% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 286 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth 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, IWP is an outstanding option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.
The iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF (IJK) and the Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth ETF (VOT) track a similar index. While iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF has $9.61 billion in assets, Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth ETF has $18.17 billion. IJK has an expense ratio of 0.17% and VOT charges 0.07%.
Bottom-Line
While an excellent vehicle for long term investors, passively managed ETFs are a popular choice among institutional and retail investors due to their low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency.
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.