Should iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Value ETF (IJJ) Be on Your Investing Radar?

If you're interested in broad exposure to the Mid Cap Value segment of the US equity market, look no further than the iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Value ETF (IJJ), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 07/24/2000.

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $7.51 billion, making it one of the larger 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. Thus, companies that fall under this category provide a stable and growth-heavy investment.

While 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. When you look at long-term performance, value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in nearly all markets. But in strong bull markets, growth stocks are more likely to be winners.

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 0.18%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.99%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

ETFs offer a diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Financials sector--about 19.40% of the portfolio. Industrials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Fidelity National Financial Inc (FNF) accounts for about 1.25% of total assets, followed by Reliance Steel & Aluminum (RS) and Us Foods Holding Corp (USFD).

The top 10 holdings account for about 6.44% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

IJJ seeks to match the performance of the S&P MidCap 400 Value Index before fees and expenses. The S&P MidCap 400 Value Index measures the performance of the mid-capitalization value sector of the U.S. equity market. It is a subset of the S&P MidCap 400 and consists of those stocks in the S&P MidCap 400 exhibiting the strongest value characteristics.

The ETF has lost about -5.32% so far this year and was up about 4.42% in the last one year (as of 05/09/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $103.88 and $135.52.

The ETF has a beta of 1.05 and standard deviation of 20.37% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 305 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

IShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 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, IJJ 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 iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF (IWS) and the Vanguard Mid-Cap Value ETF (VOE) track a similar index. While iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF has $12.95 billion in assets, Vanguard Mid-Cap Value ETF has $17.33 billion. IWS has an expense ratio of 0.23% 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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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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