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Is iShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF (IUSG) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Making its debut on 07/24/2000, smart beta exchange traded fund iShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF (IUSG - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Growth category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.
Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.
On the other hand, some investors who believe that it is possible to beat the market by superior stock selection opt to invest in another class of funds that track non-cap weighted strategies--popularly known as smart beta.
Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Blackrock. IUSG has been able to amass assets over $26.88 billion, making it the largest ETF in the Style Box - All Cap Growth. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the S&P 900 Growth Index.
The S&P 900 Growth Index measures the performance of the large and mid-capitalization growth sector of the U.S. equity market.
Cost & Other Expenses
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 cousins, other things remaining the same.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.04% for this ETF, which makes it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 0.56%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
For IUSG, it has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector --about 46.9% of the portfolio --while Telecom and Financials round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Nvidia Corp (NVDA) accounts for about 13.82% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT) and Apple Inc (AAPL).
The top 10 holdings account for about 57.65% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has lost about -3.64% and was up about 25.23% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 03/17/2026), respectively. IUSG has traded between $113.67 and $171.97 during this last 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 1.14 and standard deviation of 17.94% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 385 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
iShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - All Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
WisdomTree U.S. Quality Growth Fund (QGRW) tracks WISDOMTREE U.S. QUALITY GROWTH INDEX and the iShares Morningstar Growth ETF (ILCG) tracks MORNINGSTAR US LARGE-MID CP BRD GRWTH ID. WisdomTree U.S. Quality Growth Fund has $2.17 billion in assets, iShares Morningstar Growth ETF has $2.76 billion. QGRW has an expense ratio of 0.28% and ILCG changes 0.04%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - All Cap Growth
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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Is iShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF (IUSG) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Making its debut on 07/24/2000, smart beta exchange traded fund iShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF (IUSG - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Growth category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.
Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.
On the other hand, some investors who believe that it is possible to beat the market by superior stock selection opt to invest in another class of funds that track non-cap weighted strategies--popularly known as smart beta.
Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Blackrock. IUSG has been able to amass assets over $26.88 billion, making it the largest ETF in the Style Box - All Cap Growth. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the S&P 900 Growth Index.
The S&P 900 Growth Index measures the performance of the large and mid-capitalization growth sector of the U.S. equity market.
Cost & Other Expenses
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 cousins, other things remaining the same.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.04% for this ETF, which makes it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 0.56%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
For IUSG, it has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector --about 46.9% of the portfolio --while Telecom and Financials round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Nvidia Corp (NVDA) accounts for about 13.82% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT) and Apple Inc (AAPL).
The top 10 holdings account for about 57.65% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has lost about -3.64% and was up about 25.23% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 03/17/2026), respectively. IUSG has traded between $113.67 and $171.97 during this last 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 1.14 and standard deviation of 17.94% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 385 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
iShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - All Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
WisdomTree U.S. Quality Growth Fund (QGRW) tracks WISDOMTREE U.S. QUALITY GROWTH INDEX and the iShares Morningstar Growth ETF (ILCG) tracks MORNINGSTAR US LARGE-MID CP BRD GRWTH ID. WisdomTree U.S. Quality Growth Fund has $2.17 billion in assets, iShares Morningstar Growth ETF has $2.76 billion. QGRW has an expense ratio of 0.28% and ILCG changes 0.04%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - All Cap Growth
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.