Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Should iShares Russell Top 200 Growth ETF (IWY) Be on Your Investing Radar?

Read MoreHide Full Article

If you're interested in broad exposure to the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market, look no further than the iShares Russell Top 200 Growth ETF (IWY - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 09/22/2009.

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $11.32 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Growth

Large cap companies usually 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.

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. Further, growth stocks have a higher level of volatility associated with them. Even though growth stocks are more likely to outperform their value counterparts in strong bull markets, value stocks have a record of delivering better returns in almost all markets than growth stocks.

Costs

Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.20%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.52%.

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 52.10% of the portfolio. Telecom and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 14.01% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) and Nvidia Corp (NVDA - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 66.36% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

IWY seeks to match the performance of the Russell Top 200 Growth Index before fees and expenses. The Russell Top 200 Growth Index is a style factor weighted index that measures the performance of the largest capitalization growth sector of the U.S. equity market. It is a subset of the Russell Top 200 Index issuers with relatively higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth, which measures the performance of the largest capitalization sector of the U.S. equity market.

The ETF has added roughly 23.40% so far this year and it's up approximately 36.08% in the last one year (as of 08/26/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $149.01 and $225.97.

The ETF has a beta of 1.08 and standard deviation of 22.22% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 110 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

IShares Russell Top 200 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, IWY is an excellent 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 Growth ETF (VUG - Free Report) and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ - Free Report) track a similar index. While Vanguard Growth ETF has $136.03 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $290.02 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.04% and QQQ charges 0.20%.

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.

Published in