If you're interested in broad exposure to the Mid Cap Growth segment of the US equity market, look no further than the iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF (IJK), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on July 24, 2000.
The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $11.02 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs 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. Also, growth stocks are a type of equity that carries more risk compared to others. Compared to value stocks, growth stocks are a safer bet in a strong bull market, but don't perform as strongly in almost all other financial environments.
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 0.17%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.53%.
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 32% of the portfolio. Information Technology and Healthcare round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Technipfmc Plc (FTI) accounts for about 1.72% of total assets, followed by Curtiss Wright Corp (CW) and Flex Ltd (FLEX).
The top 10 holdings account for about 10.53% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
IJK seeks to match the performance of the S&P MidCap 400 Growth Index before fees and expenses. The S&P MidCap 400 Growth Index measures the performance of the mid-capitalization growth sector of the U.S. equity market.
The ETF has added roughly 19.08% so far this year and is up roughly 25.35% in the last one year (as of 07/03/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $91.28 and $117.50.
The ETF has a beta of 1.05 and standard deviation of 18.6% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 248 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
iShares S&P Mid-Cap 400 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, IJK is an excellent 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 Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth Index Fund ETF Shares (VOT) and the iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IWP) track a similar index. While Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth Index Fund ETF Shares has $19.31 billion in assets, iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF has $20.96 billion. VOT has an expense ratio of 0.05% and IWP charges 0.23%.
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 S&P Mid-Cap 400 Growth ETF (IJK): ETF Research Reports
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).