Launched on 07/24/2000, the iShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF (IUSG) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Growth category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
On the other hand, some investors who believe that it is possible to beat the market by superior stock selection opt to invest in another class of funds that track non-cap weighted strategies--popularly known as smart beta.
These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.
The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
IUSG is managed by Blackrock, and this fund has amassed over $13.45 billion, which makes it the largest ETF in the Style Box - All Cap Growth. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the S&P 900 Growth Index.
The S&P 900 Growth Index measures the performance of the large and mid-capitalization growth sector of the U.S. equity market.
Cost & Other Expenses
When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor. And, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins in the long term if all other factors remain equal.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.04% for IUSG, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.11%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
IUSG's heaviest allocation is in the Information Technology sector, which is about 33.90% of the portfolio. Its Healthcare and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL) accounts for about 12.37% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT) and Nvidia Corp (NVDA).