Designed to provide broad exposure to the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market, the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 05/15/2000.
The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $627.17 billion, making it the largest ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.
Why Large Cap Blend
Large cap companies usually 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.
Typically holding a combination of both growth and value stocks, blend ETFs also demonstrate qualities seen in value and growth investments.
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 0.03%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.28%.
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 33.10% of the portfolio. Financials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Microsoft Corp (MSFT) accounts for about 6.86% of total assets, followed by Nvidia Corp (NVDA) and Apple Inc (AAPL).
The top 10 holdings account for about 35.93% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
IVV seeks to match the performance of the S&P 500 Index before fees and expenses. The S&P 500 Index measures the performance of the large-capitalization sector of the U.S. equity market.
The ETF has added about 6.50% so far this year and is up roughly 13.06% in the last one year (as of 07/09/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $498.80 and $628.17.
The ETF has a beta of 1 and standard deviation of 16.99% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 507 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
IShares Core S&P 500 ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, IVV is an outstanding option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) and the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) track the same index. While SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $640.10 billion in assets, Vanguard S&P 500 ETF has $684.91 billion. SPY has an expense ratio of 0.09% and VOO charges 0.03%.
Bottom-Line
Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are 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 Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV): ETF Research Reports Apple Inc. (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report Microsoft Corporation (MSFT): Free Stock Analysis Report NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA): Free Stock Analysis Report SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY): ETF Research Reports Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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