Designed to provide broad exposure to the Mid Cap Blend segment of the US equity market, the iShares Russell Mid-Cap ETF (IWR) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on July 17, 2001.
The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $48.61 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the Mid Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.
Why Mid Cap Blend
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. Thus, companies that fall under this category provide a stable and growth-heavy investment.
Typically holding a combination of both growth and value stocks, blend ETFs also demonstrate qualities seen in value and growth investments.
Costs
When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts in the long term if all other factors remain equal.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.18%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.22%.
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 Industrials sector -- about 19.3% of the portfolio. Financials and Information Technology round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Robinhood Markets Inc Class A (HOOD) accounts for about 0.71% of total assets, followed by Howmet Aerospace Inc (HWM) and Bank Of New York Mellon Corp (BK).
The top 10 holdings account for about 5.75% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
IWR seeks to match the performance of the Russell MidCap Index before fees and expenses. The Russell Midcap Index measures the performance of the mid-capitalization sector of the U.S. equity market.
The ETF has added about 5.66% so far this year and is up roughly 11.55% in the last one year (as of 02/17/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $74.88 and $102.23.
The ETF has a beta of 1.04 and standard deviation of 15.92% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 819 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
iShares Russell Mid-Cap 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, IWR is a reasonable option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Blend area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.
The Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF (VO) and the iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF (IJH) track a similar index. While Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF has $94.80 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF has $111.06 billion. VO has an expense ratio of 0.03% and IJH charges 0.05%.
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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iShares Russell Mid-Cap ETF (IWR): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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