Should iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth ETF (IJT) Be on Your Investing Radar?

Launched on July 24, 2000, the iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth ETF (IJT) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Small Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $8.29 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

Why Small Cap Growth

Sitting at a market capitalization below $2 billion, small cap companies tend to be high-potential stocks compared to its large and mid cap counterparts, but come with higher risk.

Qualities of growth stocks include faster growth rates compared to the broader market, as well as higher valuations and higher than average sales and earnings growth rates. Additionally, growth stocks have a greater level of risk associated with them. When you consider growth versus value, growth stocks are usually the clear winner in strong bull markets but tend to fall flat in nearly all other environments.

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%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.71%.

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 Industrials sector -- about 20.8% of the portfolio. Healthcare and Information Technology round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Corcept Therapeutics (CORT) accounts for about 1.23% of total assets, followed by Viasat Inc (VSAT) and Formfactor Inc (FORM).

The top 10 holdings account for about 10.3% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

IJT seeks to match the performance of the S&P SmallCap 600 Growth Index before fees and expenses. The S&P SmallCap 600 Growth Index measures the performance of the small-capitalization growth sector of the U.S. equity market.

The ETF has added about 21.52% so far this year and is up about 21.54% in the last one year (as of 08/31/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $133.00 and $179.07.

The ETF has a beta of 1.04 and standard deviation of 19.68% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 383 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth 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, IJT is an excellent option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF (IWO) and the Vanguard Morningstar Small-Cap Growth ETF (VBK) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF has $14.98 billion in assets, Vanguard Morningstar Small-Cap Growth ETF has $24.06 billion. IWO has an expense ratio of 0.24% and VBK charges 0.05%.

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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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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