Should iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IWP) Be on Your Investing Radar?

Designed to provide broad exposure to the Mid Cap Growth segment of the US equity market, the iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IWP) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on July 17, 2001.

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $18.14 billion, making it the largest ETF attempting to match the Mid Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

Why Mid Cap Growth

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. These types of companies, then, have a good balance of stability and growth potential.

While growth stocks do boast higher than average sales and earnings growth rates, and they are expected to grow faster than the wider market, investors should note these kinds of stocks have higher valuations. Something to keep in mind is the higher level of volatility that is affiliated with growth stocks. Even though growth stocks are more likely to outperform their value counterparts in strong bull markets, value stocks have a record of delivering better returns in almost all markets than growth stocks.

Costs

Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts, other things remaining the same.

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 0.38%.

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 Industrials sector -- about 24.2% of the portfolio. Consumer Discretionary and Information Technology round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Howmet Aerospace Inc (HWM) accounts for about 3.46% of total assets, followed by Vertiv Holdings Class A (VRT) and Royal Caribbean Group Ltd (RCL).

The top 10 holdings account for about 23.17% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

IWP seeks to match the performance of the Russell MidCap Growth Index before fees and expenses. The Russell Midcap Growth Index measures the performance of the mid-capitalization growth sector of the U.S. equity market. It is a subset of the Russell Midcap Index, which measures the performance of the mid-capitalization sector of the U.S. equity market & approximately 47% of the total market value of the Russell Midcap Index.

The ETF has lost about 9.69% so far this year and it's up approximately 5.49% in the last one year (as of 03/31/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $104.34 and $145.30.

The ETF has a beta of 1.15 and standard deviation of 18.87% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 284 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

iShares Russell Mid-Cap 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, IWP is an outstanding option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF (IJK) and the Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth Index Fund ETF Shares (VOT) track a similar index. While iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF has $9.32 billion in assets, Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth Index Fund ETF Shares has $15.96 billion. IJK has an expense ratio of 0.17% and VOT charges 0.05%.

Bottom-Line

While an excellent vehicle for long term investors, passively managed ETFs are a popular choice among institutional and retail investors due to their low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency.

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 Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IWP): ETF Research Reports

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

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