We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Should You Invest in the iShares U.S. Insurance ETF (IAK)?
Read MoreHide Full Article
If you're interested in broad exposure to the Financials - Insurance segment of the equity market, look no further than the iShares U.S. Insurance ETF (IAK - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 05/01/2006.
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.
Sector ETFs are also funds of convenience, offering many ways to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Financials - Insurance is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 2, placing it in top 13%.
Index Details
The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $716.21 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Financials - Insurance segment of the equity market. IAK seeks to match the performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Select Insurance Index before fees and expenses.
The Dow Jones U.S. Select Insurance Index includes companies providing a range of specialized financial services, including securities brokers & dealers, online brokers & securities or commodities exchanges.
Costs
Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts, other things remaining the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.39%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.27%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
ETFs offer a 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 100% of the portfolio.
Looking at individual holdings, Progressive Corp (PGR - Free Report) accounts for about 16.49% of total assets, followed by Chubb Ltd (CB - Free Report) and Aflac Inc (AFL - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 67.68% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the iShares U.S. Insurance ETF has added roughly 26.40% so far, and is up about 33.38% over the last 12 months (as of 11/04/2024). IAK has traded between $94.81 and $133.60 in this past 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 0.79 and standard deviation of 18.08% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 56 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
IShares U.S. Insurance 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, IAK is a great option for investors seeking exposure to the Financials ETFs segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.
Invesco KBW Property & Casualty Insurance ETF (KBWP - Free Report) tracks KBW Nasdaq Property & Casualty Index and the SPDR S&P Insurance ETF (KIE - Free Report) tracks S&P Insurance Select Industry Index. Invesco KBW Property & Casualty Insurance ETF has $426.71 million in assets, SPDR S&P Insurance ETF has $899.59 million. KBWP has an expense ratio of 0.35% and KIE charges 0.35%.
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.
See More Zacks Research for These Tickers
Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:
Image: Bigstock
Should You Invest in the iShares U.S. Insurance ETF (IAK)?
If you're interested in broad exposure to the Financials - Insurance segment of the equity market, look no further than the iShares U.S. Insurance ETF (IAK - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 05/01/2006.
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.
Sector ETFs are also funds of convenience, offering many ways to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Financials - Insurance is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 2, placing it in top 13%.
Index Details
The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $716.21 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Financials - Insurance segment of the equity market. IAK seeks to match the performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Select Insurance Index before fees and expenses.
The Dow Jones U.S. Select Insurance Index includes companies providing a range of specialized financial services, including securities brokers & dealers, online brokers & securities or commodities exchanges.
Costs
Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts, other things remaining the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.39%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.27%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
ETFs offer a 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 100% of the portfolio.
Looking at individual holdings, Progressive Corp (PGR - Free Report) accounts for about 16.49% of total assets, followed by Chubb Ltd (CB - Free Report) and Aflac Inc (AFL - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 67.68% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the iShares U.S. Insurance ETF has added roughly 26.40% so far, and is up about 33.38% over the last 12 months (as of 11/04/2024). IAK has traded between $94.81 and $133.60 in this past 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 0.79 and standard deviation of 18.08% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 56 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
IShares U.S. Insurance 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, IAK is a great option for investors seeking exposure to the Financials ETFs segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.
Invesco KBW Property & Casualty Insurance ETF (KBWP - Free Report) tracks KBW Nasdaq Property & Casualty Index and the SPDR S&P Insurance ETF (KIE - Free Report) tracks S&P Insurance Select Industry Index. Invesco KBW Property & Casualty Insurance ETF has $426.71 million in assets, SPDR S&P Insurance ETF has $899.59 million. KBWP has an expense ratio of 0.35% and KIE charges 0.35%.
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.