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Should iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IWP) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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Launched on 07/17/2001, the iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IWP - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Mid Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $13.94 billion, making it the largest ETFs attempting to match the Mid Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

Why Mid Cap Growth

Mid cap companies have market capitalization between $2 billion and $10 billion. They usually have higher growth prospects than large cap companies and are less volatile than small cap companies. Thus they have a nice balance of growth potential and stability.

Qualities of growth stocks include faster growth rates compared to the broader market, as well as higher valuations and higher than average sales and earnings growth rates. 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

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 0.23%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.50%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, 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 26.10% of the portfolio. Industrials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Palantir Technologies Inc Class A (PLTR - Free Report) accounts for about 1.96% of total assets, followed by Cencora Inc (COR - Free Report) and Idexx Laboratories Inc (IDXX - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 15.34% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

IWP seeks to match the performance of the Russell MidCap Growth Index before fees and expenses. The Russell Midcap Growth Index measures the performance of the mid-capitalization growth sector of the U.S. equity market. It is a subset of the Russell Midcap Index, which measures the performance of the mid-capitalization sector of the U.S. equity market & approximately 47% of the total market value of the Russell Midcap Index.

The ETF return is roughly 5.75% so far this year and was up about 16.75% in the last one year (as of 09/11/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $85.66 and $115.28.

The ETF has a beta of 1.10 and standard deviation of 23.18% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 293 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

IShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth 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, IWP is a sufficient option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Growth area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF (IJK - Free Report) and the Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth ETF (VOT - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF has $9.41 billion in assets, Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth ETF has $13.40 billion. IJK has an expense ratio of 0.17% and VOT charges 0.07%.

Bottom-Line

An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they 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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