The iShares Russell 1000 ETF (IWB) was launched on 05/15/2000, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.
The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $29.05 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.
Why Large Cap Blend
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.
Blend ETFs usually hold a mix of growth and value stocks as well as stocks that exhibit both value and growth characteristics.
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 0.15%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.40%.
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 25.80% of the portfolio. Healthcare and Financials round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL) accounts for about 6.56% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT) and Amazon Com Inc (AMZN).
Performance and Risk
IWB seeks to match the performance of the Russell 1000 Index before fees and expenses. The Russell 1000 Index measures the performance of the large-capitalization sector of the U.S. equity market. The Index is a float-adjusted capitalization-weighted index of equity securities issued by the approximately 1,000 largest issuers in the Russell 3000 Index.
The ETF has lost about -14.75% so far this year and is down about -9.46% in the last one year (as of 12/02/2022). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $196.94 and $266.11.
The ETF has a beta of 1.01 and standard deviation of 25.37% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 1024 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
IShares Russell 1000 ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, IWB is a reasonable option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box – Large Cap Blend area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.
The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) track a similar index. While iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $311.30 billion in assets, SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $386.55 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and SPY charges 0.09%.
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
.
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