Launched on July 24, 2000, the iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF (IWN) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Small Cap Value segment of the US equity market.
The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $14.08 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Value segment of the US equity market.
Why Small Cap Value
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.
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. When you look at long-term performance, value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in nearly all markets. But in strong bull markets, growth stocks are more likely to be winners.
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 0.24%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.44%.
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 23.5% of the portfolio. Industrials and Information Technology round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Echostar Corp Class A (SATS) accounts for about 1.14% of total assets, followed by Ttm Technologies Inc (TTMI) and Coeur Mining Inc (CDE).
The top 10 holdings account for about 6.22% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
IWN seeks to match the performance of the Russell 2000 Value Index before fees and expenses. The Russell 2000 Value Index measures the performance of the small-capitalization value sector of the U.S. equity market.
The ETF has added roughly 18.93% so far this year and is up about 44.71% in the last one year (as of 06/03/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $152.22 and $215.36.
The ETF has a beta of 1.02 and standard deviation of 20.18% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 1406 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
iShares Russell 2000 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, IWN is an excellent option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Value segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.
The Schwab Fundamental U.S. Small Company ETF (FNDA) and the Vanguard Small-Cap Value Index Fund ETF Shares (VBR) track a similar index. While Schwab Fundamental U.S. Small Company ETF has $9.02 billion in assets, Vanguard Small-Cap Value Index Fund ETF Shares has $35.53 billion. FNDA has an expense ratio of 0.25% and VBR 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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iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF (IWN): ETF Research Reports
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).