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Should iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF (IJH) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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Looking for broad exposure to the Mid Cap Blend segment of the US equity market? You should consider the iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF (IJH - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 05/22/2000.

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $79.86 billion, making it the largest ETFs attempting to match the Mid Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

Why Mid Cap Blend

With market capitalization between $2 billion and $10 billion, mid cap companies usually contain higher growth prospects than large cap companies, and are considered less risky than their small cap counterparts. Thus they have a nice balance of growth potential and stability.

Blend ETFs usually hold a mix of growth and value stocks as well as stocks that exhibit both value and growth characteristics.

Costs

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts if all other fundamentals are the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.05%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.41%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Industrials sector--about 21.30% of the portfolio. Consumer Discretionary and Financials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Super Micro Computer Inc (SMCI - Free Report) accounts for about 1.44% of total assets, followed by Deckers Outdoor Corp (DECK - Free Report) and Reliance Steel & Aluminum (RS - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 7.3% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

IJH seeks to match the performance of the S&P MidCap 400 Index before fees and expenses. The S&P MidCap 400 Index measures the performance of the mid-capitalization sector of the U.S. equity market.

The ETF has added about 3.27% so far this year and was up about 11.92% in the last one year (as of 02/29/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $46.41 and $57.28.

The ETF has a beta of 1.12 and standard deviation of 20.48% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 414 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

IShares Core S&P Mid-Cap 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, IJH is a reasonable option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Blend area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The iShares Russell Mid-Cap ETF (IWR - Free Report) and the Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF (VO - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Russell Mid-Cap ETF has $31.75 billion in assets, Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF has $61.34 billion. IWR has an expense ratio of 0.19% and VO charges 0.04%.

Bottom-Line

Retail and institutional investors increasingly turn to passively managed ETFs because they offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; these kind of funds 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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