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

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $76.34 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

Companies that fall in the large cap category tend to have a market capitalization above $10 billion. Overall, they are usually a stable option, with less risk and more sure-fire cash flows than mid and small cap companies.

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. 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 0.18%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.35%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. 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 52.8% of the portfolio. Telecom and Financials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Nvidia (NVDA) accounts for about 15% of total assets, followed by Microsoft (MSFT) and Apple (AAPL).

The top 10 holdings account for about 60.15% of total assets under management.

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 gained about 12.21% so far this year and is up roughly 12.85% in the last one year (as of 10/27/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $108.71 and $146.12.

The ETF has a beta of 1.17 and standard deviation of 19.26% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 155 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 Morningstar Growth ETF (VUG) and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ) track a similar index. While Vanguard Morningstar Growth ETF has $226.56 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $481.48 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.03% and QQQ charges 0.18%.

Bottom-Line

Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are 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.