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Looking for broad exposure to the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market? You should consider the IQ Chaikin U.S. Large Cap ETF (CLRG), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 12/13/2017.
The fund is sponsored by New York Life Investments. It has amassed assets over $277.23 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.
Why Large Cap Blend
Companies that fall in the large cap category tend to 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.
Typically holding a combination of both growth and value stocks, blend ETFs also demonstrate qualities seen in value and growth investments.
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 0.25%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.37%.
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 24.20% of the portfolio. Healthcare and Financials round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Vertex Pharmaceuticals In (VRTX) accounts for about 1.28% of total assets, followed by Dollar General Corp (DG) and Cigna Corp (CI).
The top 10 holdings account for about 12.28% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
CLRG seeks to match the performance of the NASDAQ CHAIKIN POWER US LARGE CAP INDEX before fees and expenses. The NASDAQ Chaikin Power US Large Cap Index applies a quantitative multi-factor model that seeks to identify securities that are expected to outperform peers by selecting securities from the Nasdaq US 300 Index.
The ETF has lost about -15.38% so far this year and is down about -12.54% in the last one year (as of 09/07/2022). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $28.65 and $36.15.
The ETF has a beta of 1.05 and standard deviation of 24.80% for the trailing three-year period. With about 102 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
IQ Chaikin U.S. Large Cap 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, CLRG is a good option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.