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Should iShares Morningstar Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IMCG) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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Looking for broad exposure to the Mid Cap Growth segment of the US equity market? You should consider the iShares Morningstar Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IMCG - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on June 28, 2004.

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $4.04 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the Mid Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

Why Mid Cap Growth

Compared to large and small cap companies, mid cap businesses tend to have higher growth prospects and are less volatile, respectively, with market capitalization between $2 billion and $10 billion. These types of companies, then, have a good balance of stability and growth potential.

Qualities of growth stocks include faster growth rates compared to the broader market, as well as higher valuations and higher than average sales and earnings growth rates. Also, growth stocks are a type of equity that carries more risk compared to others. Compared to value stocks, growth stocks are a safer bet in a strong bull market, but don't perform as strongly in almost all other financial environments.

Costs

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.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.06%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.66%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Industrials sector -- about 23.3% of the portfolio. Information Technology and Financials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Snowflake (SNOW) accounts for about 1.59% of total assets, followed by Fortinet (FTNT) and Cloudflare Class A (NET).

The top 10 holdings account for about 13.57% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

IMCG seeks to match the performance of the MORNINGSTAR US MID CAP BROAD GROWTH INDX before fees and expenses. The Morningstar US Mid Cap Broad Growth Index comprises of mid-capitalization U.S. equities that exhibit growth characteristics.

The ETF return is roughly 17.88% so far this year and it's up approximately 15.41% in the last one year (as of 10/20/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $76.01 and $100.54.

The ETF has a beta of 1.13 and standard deviation of 17.27% for the trailing three-year period. With about 263 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

iShares Morningstar Mid-Cap 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, IMCG is an excellent option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IWP) and the Vanguard Morningstar Mid-Cap Growth ETF (VOT) track a similar index. While iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF has $19.03 billion in assets, Vanguard Morningstar Mid-Cap Growth ETF has $19.02 billion. IWP has an expense ratio of 0.23% and VOT charges 0.05%.

Bottom-Line

An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.

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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