Looking for broad exposure to the Mid Cap Value segment of the US equity market? You should consider the iShares Morningstar Mid-Cap Value ETF (IMCV), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on June 28, 2004.
The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $1.19 billion, making it one of the average sized 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.
Carrying lower than average price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios, value stocks also have lower than average sales and earnings growth rates. While value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in nearly all markets when you consider long-term performance, growth stocks are more likely to outpace value stocks in strong bull markets.
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 0.06%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.77%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. 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 19% of the portfolio. Industrials and Energy round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Pnc Financial Services Group Inc (PNC) accounts for about 1.45% of total assets, followed by Automatic Data Processing Inc (ADP) and Us Bancorp (USB).
The top 10 holdings account for about 12.24% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
IMCV seeks to match the performance of the MORNINGSTAR US MID CAP BROAD VALUE INDEX before fees and expenses. The Morningstar US Mid Cap Broad Value Index comprises of mid-capitalization U.S. equities that exhibit value characteristics.
The ETF return is roughly 19.59% so far this year and is up about 26.33% in the last one year (as of 08/21/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $77.65 and $98.39.
The ETF has a beta of 0.86 and standard deviation of 13.93% for the trailing three-year period. With about 275 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
iShares Morningstar Mid-Cap 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, IMCV 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 Morningstar Mid-Cap Value ETF (VOE) track a similar index. While iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF has $15.82 billion in assets, Vanguard Morningstar Mid-Cap Value ETF has $24.31 billion. IWS has an expense ratio of 0.23% and VOE 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 Morningstar Mid-Cap Value ETF (IMCV): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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