Should iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF (IWS) Be on Your Investing Radar?

Looking for broad exposure to the Mid Cap Value segment of the US equity market? You should consider the iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF (IWS), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on July 17, 2001.

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $15.82 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, with market capitalization in the range of $2 billion and $10 billion, offer investors many things that small and large companies don't, including less risk and higher growth opportunities. Thus they have a nice balance of growth potential and stability.

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. Looking at their long-term performance, value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in almost all markets. They are however likely to underperform growth stocks in strong bull markets.

Costs

Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.

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 1.27%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Financials sector -- about 17.5% of the portfolio. Industrials and Healthcare round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Phillips 66 (PSX) accounts for about 0.69% of total assets, followed by Digital Realty Trust Reit Inc (DLR) and Allstate Corp (ALL).

The top 10 holdings account for about 6.07% 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 has added roughly 21.87% so far this year and is up roughly 27.12% in the last one year (as of 08/21/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $133.85 and $173.44.

The ETF has a beta of 0.95 and standard deviation of 15.11% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 725 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value 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, IWS is a great 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 Morningstar Mid-Cap Value ETF (VOE) track a similar index. While First Trust SMID Cap Rising Dividend Achievers ETF has $11.58 billion in assets, Vanguard Morningstar Mid-Cap Value ETF has $24.31 billion. SDVY has an expense ratio of 0.58% and VOE charges 0.05%.

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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