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Is iShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF (IUSV) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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The iShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF (IUSV - Free Report) made its debut on 07/24/2000, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Value category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.

Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.

But, there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds; these funds track non-cap weighted strategies, and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market.

Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.

This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

Managed by Blackrock, IUSV has amassed assets over $15.50 billion, making it the largest ETF in the Style Box - All Cap Value. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the S&P 900 Value Index.

The S&P 900 Value Index measures the performance of the large and mid-capitalization value sector of the U.S. equity market.

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 0.04% 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 1.75%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

ETFs offer diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk, but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Financials sector - about 19.70% of the portfolio. Information Technology and Industrials round out the top three.

When you look at individual holdings, Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) accounts for about 6.13% of the fund's total assets, followed by Meta Platforms Inc Class A (META - Free Report) and Amazon Com Inc (AMZN - Free Report) .

IUSV's top 10 holdings account for about 25.33% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, IUSV has gained about 0.37%, and is up about 14.54% in the last one year (as of 01/29/2024). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $70.21 and $84.85.

IUSV has a beta of 0.97 and standard deviation of 15.53% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 697 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

IShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - All Cap Value segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.

Capital Group Dividend Value ETF (CGDV - Free Report) tracks ---------------------------------------- and the Dimensional U.S. Targeted Value ETF (DFAT - Free Report) tracks ----------------------------------------. Capital Group Dividend Value ETF has $5.72 billion in assets, Dimensional U.S. Targeted Value ETF has $9.49 billion. CGDV has an expense ratio of 0.33% and DFAT charges 0.28%.

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 Value.

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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