Should You Invest in the iShares U.S. Financials ETF (IYF)?
The iShares U.S. Financials ETF (IYF) was launched on 05/22/2000, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Financials - Broad segment of the equity market.
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.
Investor-friendly, sector ETFs provide many options to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Financials - Broad 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 $2.95 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Financials - Broad segment of the equity market. IYF seeks to match the performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Financials Index before fees and expenses.
The Russell 1000 Financials 40 Act 15/22.5 Daily Capped Index measures the performance of the financial sector of the U.S. equity market.
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 0.40%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.48%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Financials sector--about 98.80% of the portfolio.
Looking at individual holdings, Berkshire Hathaway Inc Class B- (BRK.B) accounts for about 12.57% of total assets, followed by Jpmorgan Chase & Co- (JPM) and Bank Of America Corp- (BAC).
The top 10 holdings account for about 46.70% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the iShares U.S. Financials ETF return is roughly 12.17% so far, and is up about 23.01% over the last 12 months (as of 08/07/2024). IYF has traded between $70.70 and $101.72 in this past 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 1.05 and standard deviation of 19.35% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 142 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
IShares U.S. Financials 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, IYF is a good option for those seeking exposure to the Financials ETFs area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.
Vanguard Financials ETF (VFH) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Financials 25/50 Index and the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) tracks Financial Select Sector Index. Vanguard Financials ETF has $9.41 billion in assets, Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF has $40.84 billion. VFH has an expense ratio of 0.10% and XLF charges 0.09%.
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.
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iShares U.S. Financials ETF (IYF): ETF Research Reports
Bank of America Corporation (BAC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF): ETF Research Reports
Vanguard Financials ETF (VFH): ETF Research Reports