The iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF (IWS) was launched on July 17, 2001, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Mid Cap Value segment of the US equity market.
The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $13.43 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the Mid Cap Value segment of the US equity market.
Why Mid Cap Value
Mid cap companies have market capitalization between $2 billion and $10 billion. They usually have higher growth prospects than large cap companies and are less volatile than small cap companies. These types of companies, then, have a good balance of stability and growth potential.
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. While 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
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts if all other fundamentals are the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.23%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.57%.
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 Industrials sector -- about 17.7% of the portfolio. Financials and Real Estate round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Coinbase Global Inc Class A (COIN) accounts for about 0.72% of total assets, followed by Bank Of New York Mellon Corp (BK) and Robinhood Markets Inc Class A (HOOD).
The top 10 holdings account for about 6.08% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
IWS seeks to match the performance of the Russell MidCap Value Index before fees and expenses. The Russell Midcap Value Index measures the performance of the mid-capitalization value sector of the U.S. equity market.
The ETF return is roughly 4.18% so far this year and was up about 11.37% in the last one year (as of 08/07/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $110.58 and $140.32.
The ETF has a beta of 1.00 and standard deviation of 17.35% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 726 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value 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, IWS is an excellent option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Value segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.
The First Trust SMID Cap Rising Dividend Achievers ETF (SDVY) and the Vanguard Mid-Cap Value ETF (VOE) track a similar index. While First Trust SMID Cap Rising Dividend Achievers ETF has $8.36 billion in assets, Vanguard Mid-Cap Value ETF has $18.16 billion. SDVY has an expense ratio of 0.59% and VOE charges 0.07%.
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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iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF (IWS): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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