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Should NYLI U.S. Large Cap R&D Leaders ETF (LRND) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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The NYLI U.S. Large Cap R&D Leaders ETF (LRND - Free Report) was launched on February 8, 2022, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by New York Life Investments. It has amassed assets over $332.10 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Blend

Large cap companies usually have a market capitalization above $10 billion. Considered a more stable option, large cap companies boast more predictable cash flows and are less volatile than their mid and small cap counterparts.

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

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 0.14%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.5%.

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 Information Technology sector -- about 59.6% of the portfolio. Telecom and Industrials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Nvidia Corporation (NVDA) accounts for about 14.37% of total assets, followed by Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Microsoft Corporation (MSFT).

The top 10 holdings account for about 68.08% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

LRND seeks to match the performance of the NYLI U.S. LARGE CAP R&D LEADERS INDEX before fees and expenses. The NYLI U.S. Large Cap R&D Leaders Index provides exposure to innovative companies by investing in U.S. large-cap equity securities of companies that have high research and development spending.

The ETF has gained about 9.41% so far this year and is up roughly 33.73% in the last one year (as of 05/22/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $33.23 and $45.02.

The ETF has a beta of 1.09 and standard deviation of 17.09% for the trailing three-year period. With about 108 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

NYLI U.S. Large Cap R&D Leaders 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, LRND is a great option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) and the Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF Shares (VOO) track a similar index. While iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $828.15 billion in assets, Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF Shares has $958.94 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and VOO charges 0.03%.

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.

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