Launched on May 22, 2000, the iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF (IVW Quick QuoteIVW - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $74.28 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Growth

Large cap companies typically 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.

Growth stocks have higher than average sales and earnings growth rates. While these are expected to grow faster than the broader market, they also have higher valuations. Additionally, growth stocks have a greater level of risk associated with them. When you consider growth versus value, growth stocks are usually the clear winner in strong bull markets but tend to fall flat in nearly all other environments.

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 least expensive 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 Information Technology sector -- about 52.1% of the portfolio. Telecom and Financials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Nvidia Corp (NVDA) accounts for about 14.59% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT) and Apple Inc (AAPL).

Performance and Risk

IVW seeks to match the performance of the S&P 500 Growth Index before fees and expenses. The S&P 500 Growth Index measures the performance of the large capitalization growth sector of the U.S. equity market.

The ETF has added roughly 11.24% so far this year and was up about 31.33% in the last one year (as of 06/23/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $107.48 and $141.59.

The ETF has a beta of 1.17 and standard deviation of 18.88% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 147 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

iShares S&P 500 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, IVW is a great option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The Vanguard Growth Index Fund ETF Shares (VUG) and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ) track a similar index. While Vanguard Growth Index Fund ETF Shares has $222.09 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $490.40 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.03% and QQQ charges 0.18%.

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.