IShares Core S&P 500 ETF IVV combines a broadly diversified portfolio of U.S. large-cap stocks with low turnover and a miniscule price. This provides a durable edge over its Morningstar Category peers, earning it a Morningstar Analyst Rating of Gold. 

The strategy replicates the flagship S&P 500, which is a market-cap weighted basket of about 500 of the largest U.S. stocks. Rather than index rules dictating construction, an index committee has discretion over selecting stocks that meet certain liquidity and profitability standards. The index then weights the chosen constituents by their market cap. While a committee-based approach lacks transparency, it adds flexibility to reduce unnecessary changes during reconstitution. This tames transaction costs compared with more-rigid rules-based indexes.

U.S. large-cap stocks attract liquidity and widespread attention, such that new information is quickly reflected in prices. Market-cap weighting is a sensible approach here. It harnesses the market’s collective wisdom of the relative value of each holding with the added benefit of low turnover and associated trading costs. 

However, market-cap weighting may expose the index to significant stock- or sector-level concentration during the market’s intermittent manic episodes. This can tilt the portfolio toward richly valued names or sectors, as was the case during the post-lockdown rally in 2020. In the long run, the benefits of broad diversification, low turnover, and a low fee outweigh these drawbacks.

Analyst Rating

One of the cheapest S&P 500 index-trackers.

Associate Analyst

Mo'ath Almahasneh

Microsoft

Apple

Amazon

NVIDIA

Alphabet

Tesla

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. - Ordinary Shares - Class B

UnitedHealth Group

This broadly diversified portfolio is representative of the opportunity set in the large-blend category. It relies on the market’s collective wisdom to size its positions and enjoys low turnover as a result. It earns a High Process Pillar rating.

The S&P 500 selects stocks from the pool of the largest 500 U.S companies that pass its liquidity and profitability screens. The profitability screen requires that the sum of a company’s GAAP earnings over the past four quarters be positive as well as the most recent quarter. The screen imparts a slight quality tilt to the portfolio but has a limited impact on the portfolio’s composition relative to other large-cap-focused benchmarks since many large-cap stocks tend to be profitable. But there have been instances where profitability prevented otherwise qualified companies from index inclusion. For example, Tesla TSLA was added to the index only after it passed the profitability screen in December 2020, despite passing the liquidity and market-cap thresholds in January 2013. Once the index committee selects stocks, it weights them by market cap.

Market-cap weighting harnesses the market’s collective wisdom on stocks’ relative valuations and helps curb turnover and trading costs. The index committee further curbs turnover by implementing changes as it sees fit rather than adhering to a strict reconstitution schedule.

High

Process

BlackRock's industry-leading technology, global footprint, and extensive supporting cast earn an Above Average People Pillar rating. The team employs BlackRock's Aladdin platform to fulfill much of its portfolio management tasks, and global trading desks allow traders to conduct foreign transactions in a cost-effective way.  

The iShares team has endured had some turnover over the past few in recent years. But index-tracking performance should remain tight, thanks to heavily automated processes and several long-tenured managers that remain at the helm. Amy Whitelaw left the team in February 2023 for another role within the organization. Rachel Aguirre left the team in March 2021 after she was promoted to iShares head of product engineering. Paul Whitehead replaced Alan Mason as a manager in January 2022, when Mason left to focus on the firm's customized institutional indexing capabilities. IShares has yet to name a successor for Whitelaw, but they will join a seasoned group in Greg Savage and Jennifer Hsui, who will continue to oversee this fund and have helped manage iShares ETFs since the early 2000s.  

These managers interact with a wider team of traders and managers around the globe to execute the fund's day-to-day operations. The larger number of managers also limits the impact of personnel turnover when it does occur. A portion of their compensation is tethered to index-tracking performance, which aligns manager interests with those of the fund's investors.

Above Average

People

BlackRock offers compelling options across asset classes and vehicles. It earns an Above Average rating for Parent. 
The firm’s approximately USD 8 trillion in assets under management, as of Sept. 30, 2022, gives it unparalleled scale and influence. It is a market-leading index fund provider globally, and its iShares exchange-traded fund franchise offers a low-cost lineup of core funds that investors can use to build a well-diversified portfolio for dirt cheap. The firm can be more adventurous in its ETF launches than some peers, so not everything it launches is appropriate for the masses. As a result, it is likely to have more ETF closures than peers that stick to the basic building blocks.  
The firm’s active fixed-income and multi-asset efforts also stand out as some of the best in the industry. Those benefit from BlackRock’s commitment to building a first-class risk management system via its Aladdin analytics software. The software is also available for sale to other firms and has proved to be a popular option for competitors, a testament to its usefulness. 
More recently, the firm has shifted its focus to ESG offerings and incorporating ESG across its investment lineup, leading to a political backlash in the United States.
BlackRock isn’t the best at everything it tries to do, but retail investors, financial advisors, and large institutions could all build robust portfolios using BlackRock’s products.

Parent

iShares Core S&P 500 ETF

IVV tracks a market cap-weighted index of US large- and mid-cap stocks selected by the S&P Committee.

iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF

SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF

iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

iShares Trust iShares 1-5 Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF

JPMorgan Global Select Equity ETF

SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust

iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF

During LSEG Lipper's fund-flows week that ended October 4, 2023, investors were overall net purchasers of fund assets for the first week in three, adding a net $32.9 billion. The Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Total Return Index logged its third straight weekly loss. Exchange-traded equity funds recorded $4.7 billion in weekly net inflows, marking the first weekly inflow in three.

U.S. Weekly Fund-Flows Insight Report: Taxable Fixed Income Funds Top Last Week's 2023 Outflow Record

SPDR Gold Trust

iShares Gold Trust

iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF

Invesco QQQ

Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF

Invesco DB US Dollar Index Bullish Fund

Vanguard Intermediate-Term Treasury ETF

Vanguard S&P 500 ETF

Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF

The third-quarter was a downbeat period for investors, mainly due to rising rates. Still, S&P 500 and broader market ETFs amassed most assets in the quarter.

ETF Asset Report of Q3

JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF

Overall, ETFs pulled in $329 billion in capital in the first nine months of 2023. With this, the ETF industry is on track to hit $438 billion in inflows this year if the trend continues.

5 ETFs That Pulled in Maximum Assets in the First Nine Months

Energy has been showing the best value and quality scores among sectors for 20 months. Financials and Real Estate are undervalued relative to their historical baseline. Industrials and technology are overvalued by 20% to 25% regarding the same metrics.

IVV: S&P 500 Dashboard For October

SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF

iShares JP Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF

iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF

iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF

During LSEG Lipper's fund flows week that ended September 27, 2023, investors were overall net redeemers of fund assets for the second straight week, removing a net $16.5 billion. Exchange-traded equity funds recorded $2.3 billion in weekly net outflows, marking the third weekly outflow in four. Exchange-traded taxable fixed income funds observed a $778 million weekly outflow - the macro group's first weekly outflow in three.

U.S. Weekly FundFlows Insight Report: Taxable Fixed Income Funds Log Largest Weekly Outflow Of 2023

Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF

iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol Emerging Markets ETF

iShares MSCI USA ESG Optimized ETF

iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF

Wall Street has been upbeat in the year-to-date frame as current stress in the market has been outweighed by superb gains in the first half.

ETF Asset Report YTD: S&P 500 Tops, ESG Loses

Invesco Senior Loan ETF

iShares iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond ETF

SPDR Bloomberg High Yield Bond ETF

iShares National Muni Bond ETF

iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF

Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3x Shares

iShares Short-Term National Muni Bond ETF

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund

Investors were net sellers of fund assets (including those of conventional funds and ETFs) for the first week in four, withdrawing a net $16.8 billion. Equity ETFs witnessed net outflows for the second week in three, handing back a little less than $1.8 billion for the most recent fund flows week. For the second week in a row, taxable fixed income ETFs experienced net inflows, taking in $2.7 billion this week.

U.S. Weekly FundFlows Insight Report: Hawkish Fed Comments Pushed ETF And Conventional Fund Investors To The Sidelines During The Fund Flows Week

SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF

SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Growth ETF

SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Value ETF

The resilience demonstrated by the S&P 500 is a reassuring sign for investors.

Can S&P 500 ETFs Maintain Its 5-Year Best Momentum?

Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF

Vanguard Growth ETF

Overall, ETFs pulled in $37.3 billion in capital last week, taking year-to-date inflows to $329 billion. U.S. equity ETFs led the way higher with $30.6 billion in inflows.

5 Hot U.S. Equity ETFs of Last Week

iShares Russell 2000 ETF

Invesco Russell 1000 Dynamic Multifactor ETF

iShares TIPS Bond ETF

Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund

Investors were net purchasers of fund assets (including those of conventional funds and ETFs) for the second week in a row, injecting a net $9.6 billion for the LSEG Lipper fund-flows week ended Wednesday, September 6. Equity ETFs witnessed net outflows for the second week in three, handing back a little more than $1.4 billion for the most recent fund flows week. For the first week in three, taxable fixed income ETFs experienced net outflows, handing back $1.1 billion this week.

Rise In Oil Prices And Treasury Yields Push ETF And Conventional Fund Investors To Money Market Funds During The Fund Flows Week

Avantis U.S. Small Cap Value ETF

Blackrock Large Cap Value Etf

Capital Group Growth ETF

WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund

Franklin FTSE Japan ETF

JPMorgan Active Small Cap Value ETF

VanEck Morningstar Wide Moat ETF

American Century U.S. Quality Growth ETF

Astoria US Quality Kings Etf

T Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth ETF

Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF

Harbor Long-Term Growers ETF

After a slow start to asset gathering, U.S.-listed equity ETFs were in vogue during the summer. At the end of August, the asset category had $165 billion of net inflows, more than $125 billion for fixed income.

Equity ETFs Are Shining, But What's Next?

SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF

Look into ETFs that track the S&P 500 Index to capitalize on the optimistic forecast on the benchmark index.

Investors Optimistic About S&P 500: ETFs in Focus

Direxion Daily S&P 500 Bull 3x Shares

ProShares Ultra S&P 500

ProShares UltraPro S&P500

US equity markets remain near all-time highs despite mounting valuation and interest rate headwinds. Short interest in the SPDR® S&P 500 ETF Trust has fallen to its lowest level in decades, indicating widespread complacency.

SPY: The Calm Before The Storm

loanDepot

At the close of LSEG Lipper's fund-flows week, U.S. broad-based equity indices reported positive returns - the Russell 2000 (+1.77%), Nasdaq (+2.17%), S&P 500 (+1.78%), and DJIA (+1.21%) were all in the black. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices showed all 20 major metro markets reported month-over-month price increases for the fourth straight month. Exchange-traded taxable fixed income funds observed a $2.0 billion weekly inflow—the macro-group's third weekly outflow in four.

U.S. Weekly FundFlows Insight Report: Municipal Bond ETFs Attract Second-Largest Weekly Inflow Of 2023

Pacer US Cash Cows 100 ETF

Amplify Online Retail ETF

iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF

Invesco Dynamic Building & Construction ETF

VanEck Vectors Retail ETF

WisdomTree Bloomberg Floating Rate Treasury Fund

SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF

Hey VettaFi Voices, the question this week is “Have we avoided recession?” There are differing opinions all around, but some reputable sources like Goldman Sachs are saying it's increasingly unlikely.

VettaFi Voices On: The Odds of Avoiding a Recession

Invesco DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund

iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF

Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US Index Fund

Vanguard Real Estate ETF

The S&P 500 closed August with a monthly loss of 1.71%, after a gain of 3.22% in July.

Moving Averages: S&P Finishes August Down 1.7%

Overall, ETFs pulled out $6.2 billion in capital last week, taking year-to-date inflows to $279.1 billion.

5 ETFs That Saw Most Inflows Last Week

During LSEG Lipper's fund flows week that ended August 16, 2023, investors were overall net purchasers of fund assets for the fourth week in five, adding a net $31.3 billion. Exchange-traded equity funds recorded $2.5 billion in weekly net inflows, marking the seventh weekly inflow in eight. Exchange-traded taxable fixed income funds observed a $2.2 billion weekly outflow - the macro group's second weekly outflow in three.

U.S. Weekly FundFlows Insight Report: Money Market Funds Attract Largest Weekly Inflow In 13 Weeks

Treasury ETFs are on their ways to amass record inflows in 2023.

Treasury ETFs on Way to Win Record Inflows in 2023: Here's Why

iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF

Overall, ETFs pulled in $162.2 million in capital last week, taking year-to-date inflows to $275.9 billion.

5 ETFs That Saw Inflows Last Week Amid Market Weakness

Global X Adaptive US Factor ETF

JPMorgan USD Emerging Markets Sovereign Bond ETF

iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond BuyWrite Strategy ETF

T Rowe Price Total Return ETF

July was an impressive asset-gathering month for ETFs. Much of the heavy lifting was done by the industry's largest ETFs.

Which ETFs Saw Unexpected Demand in July

iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF

iShares Treasury Floating Rate Bond ETF

U.S. stocks had an upbeat July. Investors poured money into the S&P 500 ETFs.

ETF Asset Reports of July: S&P 500 Wins

JPMorgan BetaBuilders Europe ETF

JPMorgan Limited Duration Bond ETF

During LSEG Lipper's fund-flows week that ended August 2, 2023, investors were overall net redeemers of fund assets (including both conventional funds and ETFs) for the first week in three, removing a net $6.5 billion. Our fund-flows week kicked off on Thursday, July 27, with markets digesting the prior day's anticipated 25-bps rate hike from the Federal Reserve. Conventional taxable-fixed income funds realized a weekly outflow of $2.1 billion—marking their first weekly outflow in five weeks.

U.S. Weekly FundFlows Insight Report: Taxable Bond Funds Report First Outflow In Five Weeks

Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence ETF

Invesco China Technology ETF

Invesco DWA SmallCap Momentum ETF

iShares Global Clean Energy ETF

iShares Core S&P Small Cap ETF

KraneShares Global Carbon ETF

VanEck Vectors Oil Services ETF

Invesco Solar ETF

United States Natural Gas Fund LP

Global X Uranium ETF

Sprott Uranium Miners ETF

Hello! This is MarketWatch reporter Isabel Wang bringing you this week's ETF Wrap. In this week's edition, we look at flows into U.S. exchange-traded funds in July which recorded their second-best month of 2023 as stock market's rally gained steam and widened beyond the first-half winners.

ETF flows in July point to a more balanced stock-market rally as mid- and small-cap funds start to outperform first-half winners

Energy, real estate, and financials have good value and quality scores. The most overvalued sectors are technology and industrials. Mega-cap companies have been leading the market in the last few months.

IVV: S&P 500 Dashboard For August

News for iShares Core S&P 500 ETF ETF (IVV)