Should iShares Russell Top 200 ETF (IWL) Be on Your Investing Radar?

The iShares Russell Top 200 ETF (IWL) was launched on 09/22/2009, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $1.78 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Blend

Companies that find themselves in the large cap category typically have a market capitalization above $10 billion. Considered a more stable option, large cap companies boast more predictable cash flows and are less volatile than their mid and small cap counterparts.

Blend ETFs are aptly named, since they tend to hold a mix of growth and value stocks, as well as show characteristics of both kinds of equities.

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 0.15%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.99%.

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.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector--about 37.60% of the portfolio. Financials and Telecom round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Nvidia Corp (NVDA) accounts for about 8.25% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT) and Apple Inc (AAPL).

The top 10 holdings account for about 41.92% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

IWL seeks to match the performance of the Russell Top 200 Index before fees and expenses. The Russell Top 200 Index is a float-adjusted, capitalization-weighted index that measures the performance of the largest capitalization sector of the U.S. equity market.

The ETF has added roughly 9.45% so far this year and it's up approximately 20.93% in the last one year (as of 07/28/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $122.36 and $157.67.

The ETF has a beta of 1.01 and standard deviation of 17.13% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 202 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

IShares Russell Top 200 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, IWL is a sufficient 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.

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) and the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) track a similar index. While SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $655.33 billion in assets, Vanguard S&P 500 ETF has $703.83 billion. SPY has an expense ratio of 0.09% and VOO charges 0.03%.

Bottom-Line

Retail and institutional investors increasingly turn to passively managed ETFs because they offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; these kind of funds 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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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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