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Is iShares MSCI USA Quality GARP ETF (GARP) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Making its debut on 01/14/2020, smart beta exchange traded fund iShares MSCI USA Quality GARP ETF (GARP - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Growth category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.

Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well 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.

The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.

Fund Sponsor & Index

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $2.56 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs in the Style Box - All Cap Growth. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the MSCI USA QUALITY GARP SELECT INDEX .

The MSCI USA Quality GARP Select Index composes of U.S. large and mid-capitalization growth stocks exhibiting favourable value and quality characteristics.

Cost & Other Expenses

Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.

Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.15% for this ETF, which makes it one of the least expensive products in the space.

The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.27%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector - about 54.4% of the portfolio. Telecom and Industrials round out the top three.

Taking into account individual holdings, Nvidia Corp (NVDA) accounts for about 5.37% of the fund's total assets, followed by Lam Research Corp (LRCX) and Apple Inc (AAPL).

Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 42.9% of GARP's total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

Year-to-date, the iShares MSCI USA Quality GARP ETF has added about 19.59% so far, and it's up approximately 33.91% over the last 12 months (as of 07/15/2026). GARP has traded between $60.53 $83.16 in this past 52-week period.

GARP has a beta of 1.20 and standard deviation of 22.71% for the trailing three-year period. With about 150 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .

Alternatives

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

iShares Morningstar Growth ETF (ILCG) tracks MORNINGSTAR US LARGE-MID CP BRD GRWTH ID and the iShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF (IUSG) tracks S&P 900 Growth Index. iShares Morningstar Growth ETF has $3.22 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF has $32.26 billion. ILCG has an expense ratio of 0.04% and IUSG 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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