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Is iShares MSCI USA Equal Weighted ETF (EUSA) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Launched on 05/05/2010, the iShares MSCI USA Equal Weighted ETF (EUSA - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Blend category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.

Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.

If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.

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.

Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $1.7 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - All Cap Blend. EUSA, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the MSCI USA Equal Weighted Index.

The MSCI USA Equal Weighted Index represents the MSCI USA Index, measures the performance of equity securities in the top 85% by market capitalization of equity securities listed on stock exchanges in the United States.

Cost & Other Expenses

For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.

Annual operating expenses for EUSA are 0.09%, which makes it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 1.48%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Most ETFs are very transparent products, and disclose their holdings on a daily basis. ETFs also offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, though it's still important for investors to research a fund's holdings.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector - about 21.4% of the portfolio. Industrials and Financials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Dell Technologies Inc Class C (DELL) accounts for about 0.3% of total assets, followed by Ciena Corp (CIEN) and Cf Industries Holdings Inc (CF).

The top 10 holdings account for about 2.71% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF return is roughly 9.35% and is up about 18.5% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 06/19/2026), respectively. EUSA has traded between $96.35 and $113.78 during this last 52-week period.

The ETF has a beta of 0.97 and standard deviation of 14.16% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 542 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .

Alternatives

iShares MSCI USA Equal Weighted ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - All Cap Blend segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF (ITOT) tracks S&P Total Market Index and the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares (VTI) tracks CRSP US Total Market Index. iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF has $93.04 billion in assets, Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares has $656.52 billion. ITOT has an expense ratio of 0.03% and VTI changes 0.03%.

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 Blend

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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