Should iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF Be on Your Investing Radar?

Launched on 05/22/2000, the iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF IWD is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Large Cap Value segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $55.66 billion, making it the largest ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Value segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Value

Companies that fall in the large cap category tend to 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.

Carrying lower than average price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios, value stocks also have lower than average sales and earnings growth rates. Looking at their long-term performance, value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in almost all markets. They are however likely to underperform growth stocks in strong bull markets.

Costs

Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.19%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.96%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Financials sector--about 23% of the portfolio. Industrials and Healthcare round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Berkshire Hathaway Inc Class B accounts for about 3.54% of total assets, followed by JPMorgan Chase & Co and Exxon Mobil Corp XOM.

The top 10 holdings account for about 17.89% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

IWD seeks to match the performance of the Russell 1000 Value Index before fees and expenses. The Russell 1000 Value Index measures the performance of the large-capitalization value sector of the U.S. equity market.

The ETF has added about 6.18% so far this year and is up about 13.62% in the last one year (as of 07/09/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $143.69 and $179.11.

The ETF has a beta of 0.95 and standard deviation of 15.18% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 851 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

IShares Russell 1000 Value ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, IWD is a great option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF SCHD and the Vanguard Value ETF VTV track a similar index. While Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF has $54.39 billion in assets, Vanguard Value ETF has $115.94 billion. SCHD has an expense ratio of 0.06% and VTV charges 0.04%.

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 read this article on Zacks.com click here.