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

If you're interested in broad exposure to the Large Cap Value segment of the US equity market, look no further than the iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF (IWD), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 05/22/2000.

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $62.04 billion, making it one of 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. Overall, they are usually a stable option, with less risk and more sure-fire cash flows than mid and small cap companies.

While value stocks have lower than average price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios, they also have lower than average sales and earnings growth rates. Value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in nearly all markets when you consider long-term performance, growth stocks are more likely to outpace value 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 1.83%.

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 23.70% of the portfolio. Industrials and Healthcare round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Berkshire Hathaway Inc Class B (BRK.B) accounts for about 3.87% of total assets, followed by Jpmorgan Chase & Co (JPM) and Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM).

The top 10 holdings account for about 17.79% 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 3.77% so far this year and is up about 8.80% in the last one year (as of 05/20/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $166.82 and $199.79.

The ETF has a beta of 0.89 and standard deviation of 15.64% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 873 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

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