Designed to provide broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Value category of the market, the iShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF (IUSV) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 07/24/2000.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.
Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.
But, there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds; these funds track non-cap weighted strategies, and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market.
Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.
Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Blackrock, and has been able to amass over $24.96 billion, which makes it one of the largest ETFs in the Style Box - All Cap Value. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the S&P 900 Value Index.
The S&P 900 Value Index measures the performance of the large and mid-capitalization value sector of the U.S. equity market.
Cost & Other Expenses
When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor. And, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins in the long term if all other factors remain equal.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.04%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.69%.
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.
IUSV's heaviest allocation is in the Information Technology sector, which is about 16.2% of the portfolio. Its Financials and Industrials round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL) accounts for about 6.81% of total assets, followed by Amazon Com Inc (AMZN) and Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 21.81% of IUSV's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added roughly 4.89% and it's up approximately 15.36% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 02/27/2026), respectively. IUSV has traded between $81.46 and $107.64 during this last 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 0.87 and standard deviation of 12.93% for the trailing three-year period, which makes IUSV a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 752 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
iShares Core S&P U.S. Value ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - All Cap Value segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
iShares U.S. Equity Factor ETF (LRGF) tracks MSCI USA Diversified Multiple-Factor Index and the Fidelity High Dividend ETF (FDVV) tracks Fidelity Core Dividend Index. iShares U.S. Equity Factor ETF has $3.11 billion in assets, Fidelity High Dividend ETF has $10.82 billion. LRGF has an expense ratio of 0.08% and FDVV changes 0.15%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - All Cap Value
Bottom Line
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 Core S&P U.S. Value ETF (IUSV): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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