Should iShares Morningstar MidCap Growth ETF (IMCG) Be on Your Investing Radar?

Designed to provide broad exposure to the Mid Cap Growth segment of the US equity market, the iShares Morningstar MidCap Growth ETF (IMCG) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 06/28/2004.

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $1.11 billion, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Mid Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

Why Mid Cap Growth

With market capitalization between $2 billion and $10 billion, mid cap companies usually contain higher growth prospects than large cap companies, and are considered less risky than their small cap counterparts. These types of companies, then, have a good balance of stability and growth potential.

While growth stocks do boast higher than average sales and earnings growth rates, and they are expected to grow faster than the wider market, investors should note these kinds of stocks have higher valuations. Also, growth stocks are a type of equity that carries more risk compared to others. Compared to value stocks, growth stocks are a safer bet in a strong bull market, but don't perform as strongly in almost all other financial environments.

Costs

Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.06%, making it the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.67%.

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 to the Information Technology sector--about 23.70% of the portfolio. Industrials and Healthcare round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc (HLT) accounts for about 1.05% of total assets, followed by Datadog Inc Class A (DDOG) and Resmed Inc (RMD).

The top 10 holdings account for about 8.61% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

IMCG seeks to match the performance of the MORNINGSTAR US MID CAP BROAD GROWTH INDX before fees and expenses. The Morningstar US Mid Cap Broad Growth Index comprises of mid-capitalization U.S. equities that exhibit growth characteristics.

The ETF has lost about -19.05% so far this year and is down about -13.05% in the last one year (as of 04/27/2022). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $58.63 and $76.33.

The ETF has a beta of 1.07 and standard deviation of 25.60% for the trailing three-year period. With about 372 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

IShares Morningstar MidCap 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, IMCG is an outstanding option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The Vanguard MidCap Growth ETF (VOT) and the iShares Russell MidCap Growth ETF (IWP) track a similar index. While Vanguard MidCap Growth ETF has $10.20 billion in assets, iShares Russell MidCap Growth ETF has $12.25 billion. VOT has an expense ratio of 0.07% and IWP charges 0.23%.

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.