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Should iShares Russell 1000 ETF (IWB) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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The iShares Russell 1000 ETF (IWB - Free Report) was launched on 05/15/2000, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $38.96 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Blend

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.

Typically holding a combination of both growth and value stocks, blend ETFs also demonstrate qualities seen in value and growth investments.

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 0.15%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.11%.

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 30.20% of the portfolio. Financials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 6.40% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) and Nvidia Corp (NVDA - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 31.3% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

IWB seeks to match the performance of the Russell 1000 Index before fees and expenses. The Russell 1000 Index measures the performance of the large-capitalization sector of the U.S. equity market. The Index is a float-adjusted capitalization-weighted index of equity securities issued by the approximately 1,000 largest issuers in the Russell 3000 Index.

The ETF has added roughly 26.41% so far this year and is up about 37.85% in the last one year (as of 11/14/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $246.60 and $329.85.

The ETF has a beta of 1.02 and standard deviation of 17.80% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 1016 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

IShares Russell 1000 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, IWB is an outstanding option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV - Free Report) and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $567.47 billion in assets, SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $632.47 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and SPY charges 0.09%.

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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