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Looking for broad exposure to the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market? You should consider the iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF (IWF), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 05/22/2000.

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $88.89 billion, making it one of the largest 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. Overall, they are usually a stable option, with less risk and more sure-fire cash flows than mid and small cap companies.

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. Also, growth stocks are a type of equity that carries more risk compared to others. When you consider growth versus value, growth stocks are usually the clear winner in strong bull markets but tend to fall flat in nearly all other environments.

Costs

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts if all other fundamentals are 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 0.58%.

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 Information Technology sector--about 44.60% of the portfolio. Consumer Discretionary and Telecom round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Microsoft Corp (MSFT) accounts for about 11.96% of total assets, followed by Apple Inc (AAPL) and Nvidia Corp (NVDA).

The top 10 holdings account for about 52.79% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

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

The ETF has gained about 10.87% so far this year and is up about 36.68% in the last one year (as of 05/08/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $246.44 and $339.01.

The ETF has a beta of 1.08 and standard deviation of 21.70% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 444 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

IShares Russell 1000 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, IWF is an outstanding 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) and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ) track a similar index. While Vanguard Growth ETF has $121.01 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $256.31 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.04% and QQQ charges 0.20%.

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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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.