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If you&#39;re interested in broad exposure to the Mid Cap Blend segment of the US equity market, look no further than the Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF (ARCA:VO), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 01/26/2004.

Should Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF (VO) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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Advisors Series Trust VegTech Plant-based Innovation & Climate ETF

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Many stocks have had astonishing growth since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, owing to massive amounts of money pumped by central banks and government stimulus, which have fueled consumer spending and the economic recovery.

If You Invested $1,000 In This Energy Drink Stock When COVID-19 Lockdowns Started, You&#39;d Now Have Over $41,000 — And It May Be Time To Sell

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On CNBC’s &#34;Halftime Report Final Trades,&#34;  Liz Young of BNY Mellon Investment Management named  iShares Core S&amp;P Mid-Cap ETF (NYSE: IJH), saying that &#34;mid-c

Becton Dickinson, Freeport-McMoRan, GXO Logistics And This Mid-Cap ETF On CNBC&#39;s &#39;Final Trades&#39;

If you&#39;re interested in broad exposure to the Mid Cap Blend segment of the US equity market, look no further than the Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF (ARCA:VO), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 01/26/2004.
The fund is sponsored by Vanguard. It has amassed assets over $63.11 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the Mid Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.
Why Mid Cap Blend
Mid cap companies, with market capitalization in the range of $2 billion and $10 billion, offer investors many things that small and large companies don&#39;t, including less risk and higher growth opportunities. Thus, companies that fall under this category provide a stable and growth-heavy investment.
Typically holding a combination of both growth and value stocks, blend ETFs also demonstrate qualities seen in value and growth investments.
Costs
Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF&#39;s expense ratio.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.04%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.52%.
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 Industrials sector--about 18% of the portfolio. Information Technology and Financials round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Amphenol Corp (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/aph#NYSE">APH</a>) accounts for about 0.85% of total assets, followed by Arthur J Gallagher &amp; Co (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/ajg#NYSE">AJG</a>) and Motorola Solutions Inc (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/msi#NYSE">MSI</a>).
The top 10 holdings account for about 5.62% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
VO seeks to match the performance of the CRSP US Mid Cap Index before fees and expenses. The CRSP US Mid Cap Index targets inclusion of the U.S. companies that fall between the top 70%-85% of investable market capitalization.
The ETF has added roughly 6.10% so far this year and is up about 24.20% in the last one year (as of 03/25/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $195.66 and $247.32.
The ETF has a beta of 1.08 and standard deviation of 18.78% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 338 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, VO is an excellent option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Blend segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.
The iShares Russell Mid-Cap ETF (ARCA:IWR) and the iShares Core S&amp;P Mid-Cap ETF (ARCA:IJH) track a similar index. While iShares Russell Mid-Cap ETF has $32.61 billion in assets, iShares Core S&amp;P Mid-Cap ETF has $83.50 billion. IWR has an expense ratio of 0.19% and IJH charges 0.05%.
Bottom-Line
Retail and institutional investors increasingly turn to passively managed ETFs because they offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; these kind of funds are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.
<a href="https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2245283/should-vanguard-mid-cap-etf-vo-be-on-your-investing-radar?cid=CS-BENZ-FT-style_box_etf-2245283">To read this article on Zacks.com click here.</a>

Many stocks&nbsp;have had astonishing&nbsp;growth&nbsp;since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, owing to massive amounts of money pumped by central banks and government stimulus, which have fueled consumer spending and the economic recovery.
But one company substantially outperformed the others &mdash; and it has nothing to do with the metaverse, cryptocurrencies, or artificial intelligence and cutting-edge platforms such as <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/topic/artificial-intelligence" target="_blank">OpenAI&#39;s ChatGPT.</a>
Instead, it produces simple&nbsp;energy drinks that are consumed by real people, not avatars.
A $1,000 investment in Celsius Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/celh#NASDAQ">CELH</a>) made on March 16, 2020, when the world went in lockdown, would&nbsp;now be&nbsp;worth more than $41,422.
That would have resulted in an over&nbsp;41-fold increase in the amount invested at that time.
No other U.S. large-cap stock had such an explosive increase during the previous three years.
The share price of Celsius Holdings rose from a low of $3.22 in March 2020 to its current level of $133.4, representing&nbsp;a mind-blowing gain of 4,042%.
Chart: Celsius Holdings Skyrocketed After Covid-19
<img alt="" src="https://www.benzinga.com/files/u1363475/celh_2023-05-19_13-44-11_9fcd5.png" style="height:500px; width:100%" />
What Does Celsius Holdings Do?&nbsp;The firm was originally known as Vector Ventures, Inc. until changing its name to Celsius Holdings, Inc. in January 2007.
Under the trademark CELSIUS&reg;, Celsius Holdings produces energy drinks and powder sticks that can be mixed with water.
CELSIUS&reg; beverages come in a variety of sparkling and non-carbonated flavors, including orange, watermelon, a&ccedil;a&iacute;, and lemon-lime. CELSIUS&reg; contains no aspartame, no high fructose corn syrup, no GMOs, no artificial flavors or colors, and no added salt. CELSIUS&reg; products are kosher and vegan, as well as soy, gluten, and sugar-free.
Celsius Holdings sells its products via&nbsp;supermarkets, convenience shops, medicine stores, nutritional stores, mass merchants, as well as&nbsp;health clubs, spas, gyms&nbsp;and e-commerce websites.&nbsp;
And Why Investors Should Better Stay Away Now:&nbsp;It would be wise for any potential new investors to take note of the stock&#39;s remarkable surge since COVID-19, since fundamentals have not performed as the share&nbsp;price did.&nbsp;&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Since 2019, Celsius Holdings&#39; annual earnings have been steadily dropping&nbsp;and the company has consistently missed&nbsp;analyst annual&nbsp;profit projections.&nbsp;</li>
<li>In 2022, earnings per share (EPS) came in at a&nbsp;negative&nbsp;2.63, below than the market&#39;s expectation of negative 2.42.</li>
<li>Both the past 12&nbsp;month&#39;s EBITDA and earnings are negative, according to <a href="https://pro.benzinga.com/popout/widget/details/AwUKERyNo" target="_blank">Benzinga Pro platform</a>.&nbsp;</li>
<li>EPS is expected to increase to $1.49 in fiscal year 2023, $2.22 in fiscal year 2024&nbsp;and $3.23 in fiscal year 2025.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Celsius Holdings&#39; current stock price is 135 times&nbsp;the company&#39;s estimated earnings over the next 12&nbsp;months (forward P/E ratio), which makes this stock extremely expensive.&nbsp;</li>
<li>
The amount of short positions as a percentage of float is 31%.
</li>
</ul>
Most-Exposed Exchange Traded Funds to Celsius Holdings: Three thematic ETFs presently have more than 4% of their portfolio exposed to Celsius Holdings, according to Koyfin data.&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Advisors Series Trust - VegTech Plant-based Innovation &amp; Climate ETF (ARCA: EATV), holds 1,940 shares of&nbsp;Celsius Holdings, corresponding to 5.03% of its portfolio.&nbsp;</li>
<li>
Global X Funds - Global X Health &amp; Wellness ETF (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/bfit#NASDAQ">BFIT</a>),&nbsp;holds 7,430 shares of&nbsp;Celsius Holdings, corresponding to 4.68% of its portfolio.&nbsp;
</li>
<li>
Series Portfolios Trust - Subversive Mental Health ETF (ARCA: SANE), holds 199 shares of&nbsp;Celsius Holdings, corresponding to 4.22% of its portfolio.
</li>
<li>
Celsius Holdings is also included in two popular U.S. broad equity ETFs, the iShares Core S&amp;P Mid-Cap ETF (ARCA: IJH) and the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (ARCA: IWM), but with a marginal weight of roughly 0.3%.
</li>
</ul>
Read Next:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/news/earnings/23/05/32466450/up-over-2-600-in-5-years-wall-street-still-calls-celsius-a-buy" target="_blank">Up Over 2,600% In 5 Years, Wall Street Still Calls Celsius A Buy</a>
Photo: Courtesy Celsius
<ul>
</ul>
&nbsp;

If You Invested $1,000 In This Energy Drink Stock When COVID-19 Lockdowns Started, You'd Now Have Over $41,000 — And It May Be Time To Sell

On CNBC&rsquo;s &quot;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2023/01/09/final-trades-gxo-becton-dickinson-freeport-mcmoran-more.html">Halftime Report Final Trades</a>,&quot; Liz Young of BNY Mellon Investment Management named iShares Core S&amp;P Mid-Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/ijh#NYSE">IJH</a>), saying that &quot;mid-caps are a good place to be&quot; and <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/news/23/01/30332910/tesla-moderna-and-these-2-stocks-insiders-are-selling"> also trading at a nice valuation.</a>
Stephen Weiss of Short Hills Capital Partners named GXO Logistics, Inc. (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/gxo#NYSE">GXO</a>). Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock from Equal-Weight to Overweight and raised the price target from $45 to $60.
Benzinga data shows that analysts agree, giving GXO an <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/GXO/analyst-ratings">Overweight consensus rating.</a>
<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/quote/GXO/analyst-ratings"><img alt="" src="https://www.benzinga.com/files/u449135/gxo.jpg" style="height:123px; width:623px" /></a> 
Don&rsquo;t forget to check out our <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/premarket/"> premarket coverage here </a> 
Jason Snipe of Odyssey Capital Advisors named Becton Dickinson and Co&nbsp;(NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/bdx#NYSE">BDX</a>) and said procedural volumes will pick up in 2023.
Joseph Terranova of Virtus Investment Partners named&nbsp;Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/fcx#NYSE">FCX</a>) as his final trade.
Check This Out: <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/news/earnings/23/01/30346292/investor-optimism-improves-after-nasdaq-settles-higher"> Investor Optimism Improves After Nasdaq Settles Higher </a>

Becton Dickinson, Freeport-McMoRan, GXO Logistics And This Mid-Cap ETF On CNBC's 'Final Trades'

<ul>
<li>Callaway Golf Co&nbsp;(NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/ely#NYSE">ELY</a>)&nbsp;<a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/21/06/n21521870/callaway-golf-set-to-join-s-p-midcap-400-apollo-medical-to-join-s-p-smallcap-600" style="color:#4a6ee0; background:transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt" target="_blank">is set to replace</a>&nbsp;GrubHub Inc&nbsp;(NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/grub#NYSE">GRUB</a>) in the S&amp;P MidCap 400.</li>
<li>The S&amp;P MidCap 400 index comprises 400 companies with midrange market capitalization, between $200 million and $5 billion.</li>
<li>Callaway&#39;s addition comes after the British-Dutch company online food ordering company,&nbsp;Just Eat Takeaway.com NV&nbsp;(OTC: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/tkayf#OTC">TKAYF</a>),&nbsp;<a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.benzinga.com/m-a/21/06/21513947/grubhub-shareholders-approve-just-eat-takeaway-coms-acquisition-offer" style="color:#4a6ee0; background:transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt" target="_blank">agreed to acquire GrubHub</a>.</li>
<li>Callaway&#39;s market cap stands at $5.35 billion as of Thursday&#39;s close.</li>
<li>Price Action:&nbsp;ELY shares are trading lower by 4.28% at $33.75 in premarket trading on last check Friday.</li>
</ul>

GRUB

IVOO

TKAYF

Callaway Golf Set To Enter S&P Midcap 400 Index

Large caps led the way in 2019, but there were some solid performances among smaller names. For example, the S&amp;P MidCap 400 Index, one of the most widely followed gauges of mid-cap equities, returned 24%.
<h3>What Happened</h3>
Investors looking to get involved with <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/trading-ideas/long-ideas/19/09/14418487/3-mid-cap-etfs-for-an-overlooked-asset-class">oft-overlooked mid caps</a>, one of the best-performing equity market segments, in 2020 ought to consider the iShares Core S&amp;P Mid-Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/ijh#NYSE">IJH</a>). Home to $53.6 billion in assets under management, IJH is one of the largest mid-cap ETFs.
Mid caps have some important advantages, including faster earnings growth than large-cap companies and sturdier finances than smaller companies. Those traits, among others, facilitate superior long-term outcomes.
&ldquo;From Jan. 31, 1995, through Dec. 19, 2019, the S&amp;P MidCap 400 Index outperformed the S&amp;P 500 and the S&amp;P SmallCap 600 indexes by 195 and 76 basis points annualized, respectively,&rdquo; <a href="https://www.morningstar.com/articles/960653/this-etf-offers-high-quality-mid-cap-stocks-at-a-bargain">Morningstar said in a recent note</a>.
<h3>Why It&#39;s Important</h3>
IJH, which tracks the S&amp;P MidCap 400 Index, has an expense ratio of just 0.06% per year, or $6 on a $10,000 investment. Only a handful of ETFs in this category have lower fees.
&ldquo;This cost advantage has translated into strong category-relative performance over the long term,&rdquo; said Morningstar. &ldquo;Over the trailing 10 years through June 2019, the fund outperformed the category average by 208 basis points annualized while exhibiting slightly greater risk. On a risk-adjusted basis, the fund outperformed the mid-blend category average. Overall, this fund should continue to enjoy a durable long-term edge over many of its competitors because of its low expense ratio and lower-than-average cash drag.&rdquo;
Mid-cap investing means an increase in volatility relative to large-cap benchmarks as highlighted by IJH&#39;s three-year <a href="https://www.ishares.com/us/products/239763/?referrer=tickerSearch">standard deviation of 14.64%</a>, but that isn&#39;t overly turbulent and compares favorably some well-known small-cap indexes.
<h3>What&#39;s Next </h3>
&ldquo;The fund&#39;s sector exposures are currently similar to the category average. It does not constrain its sector allocation, and this may lead to overallocation to some sectors as they become more richly valued and have lower expected returns,&rdquo; said Morningstar.
IJH devotes 35% of its combined weight to financial services and industrial names while the technology and consumer discretionary sectors combine for 29%.
In other words, IJH leans heavily toward higher beta, cyclical sectors and its weight to defensive groups is relatively low.
Morningstar has a Gold rating on IJH, the highest rating the research firm bestows upon ETFs.
Related Links:
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Long Ideas

Broad U.S. Equity ETFs

Analyst Ratings

A Gold-Engraved Invitation To Mid-Cap Stocks

Some investors may think that because mid-cap stocks are smaller than large- and mega-cap stocks, paying up for higher fee actively managed mutual funds to access this asset class. Data don&#39;t confirm that notion.
The $51.36 billion iShares Core S&amp;P Mid-Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/ijh#NYSE">IJH</a>) is the largest mid-cap ETF and charges <a href="https://www.ishares.com/us/products/239763/?referrer=tickerSearch">just 0.07% per year</a>, or $7 on a $10,000 investment. However, cost-effective is just one of IJH&#39;s favorable traits.
&ldquo;The average mid-cap core mutual fund rated by CFRA generated a 10.3% three-year annualized total return as of November 1, lagging the 11.7% return for iShares Core S&amp;P Mid-Cap ETF (IJH),&rdquo; <a href="The average mid-cap core mutual fund rated by CFRA generated a 10.3% three-year annualized total return as of November 1, lagging the 11.7% return for iShares Core S&amp;P Mid-Cap ETF (IJH). The collective performance was hurt by charging on average a 1.2% net expense ratio (IJH charges just 0.07), but also by stock selections.">CFRA Research </a>Director of ETF &amp; Mutual Fund Research Todd Rosenbluth said in a recent note. &ldquo;The collective performance was hurt by charging on average a 1.2% net expense ratio (IJH charges just 0.07), but also by stock selections.&rdquo;
<h3>Why It&#39;s Important </h3>
Mid-cap stocks are often dubbed the forgotten or overlooked segment of the equity market, but historical data confirm the group&#39;s utility. Over long holding periods, mid-cap stocks often outperform large-cap stocks by sizable margins while offering less volatility than small-cap stocks.
&ldquo;Despite a strong combination of growth and stability traits that should garner significant interest, mid-cap stocks remained under the radar,&rdquo; Rosenbluth said.
Some data points suggest investors are warming to mid-cap ETFs. For example, IJH, which tracks the S&amp;P MidCap 400 Index, has seen 2019 inflows of $1.19 billion.
<h3>What&#39;s Next</h3>
IJH allocates over a third of its weight to industrial and financial services stocks, giving it a cyclical fee. Adding to that cyclical bias with a growth tilt is the fund&#39;s nearly 28% combined weight to technology and consumer discretionary stocks.
Those sector leanings due create higher volatility; IJH&#39;s three-year standard deviation is almost 500 basis points higher than the S&amp;P 500&#39;s. However, mid-cap stocks&#39; often deliver superior risk-adjusted returns relative to their larger peers, rendering the higher volatility a moot point.
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Why ETFs Are The Better Way To Mid-Cap Stocks

Mid-cap stocks and the related exchange traded funds, including the iShares Core S&amp;P Mid-Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/ijh#NYSE">IJH</a>) are starting to receive <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/19/09/14455000/how-cheapskates-can-access-mid-caps">more attention and rightfully so</a>, but before investors run blindly into often overlooked mid caps, knowing why stocks in the middle are durable long-term performers is essential.
<h3>What Happened</h3>
The $49.84 billion IJH, the largest mid-cap ETF on the market, tracks the S&amp;P MidCap 400 Index, undoubtedly the marquee mid-cap benchmark.
&ldquo;Mid-cap stocks are often overlooked, and yet, over the past 15 years, they have outperformed both large- and small-cap stocks,&rdquo; <a href="https://www.morningstar.com/articles/946517/demystifying-us-mid-cap-indexing">said Morningstar in a recent note</a>. &ldquo;There is no structural reason to justify this, nor is there a reason to believe it will continue. However, mid-cap stocks warrant more attention than they currently garner.&rdquo;
<h3>Why It&#39;s Important</h3>
Additionally, mid-cap stocks <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/trading-ideas/long-ideas/19/09/14418487/3-mid-cap-etfs-for-an-overlooked-asset-class">offer better growth potential</a> than large-cap rivals and less volatility than smaller stocks and while there may not be structural explanations for why mid-cap stocks outperform, there are important structural differences between ETFs like IJH and the iShares Core S&amp;P 500 ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/ivv#NYSE">IVV</a>).
&ldquo;IJH provides better sector- and single-stock diversification compared with large caps, as measured by IVV,&rdquo; said Morningstar. &ldquo;For example, technology stocks make up roughly 17% of IJH&#39;s portfolio versus 24% for IVV. Mid-cap funds are also more diversified at a single-stock level. IJH&#39;s top 10 holdings represent about 6% of its portfolio versus about 21% for IVV.&rdquo;
Financial services, industrial and technology stocks combine for about 47% of IJH&#39;s weight whereas the three largest sectors in the S&amp;P 500 &ndash; technology, health care and financials &ndash; combine for 48% of the benchmark&#39;s weight with almost 22% devoted just to technology.
<h3>What&#39;s Next</h3>
Another factor to consider, particularly at a time when trade tensions are still running higher, is that mid caps are more domestically focused than large caps. In part, that&#39;s attributable to funds such as IJH often being overweight real estate and utilities stocks relative to the S&amp;P 500.
&ldquo;Finally, mid-caps provide more targeted exposure to the U.S. economy than large caps. Morningstar&#39;s revenue exposure by region data shows that the companies in IJH&#39;s portfolio generate roughly 77% of their revenues in the United States versus 62% for IVV,&rdquo; according to Morningstar.
The average market cap of IJH&#39;s holdings is $5.1 billion, but that figure drifts beyond $15 billion in some rival mid-cap ETFs.
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Uncovering The Marvel Of Mid-Cap ETFs

This year, mid-cap stocks and the related exchange traded funds are, well, in the middle. Up 18.9% year to date, the $49.82 billion iShares Core S&amp;P Mid-Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/ijh#NYSE">IJH</a>), which tracks the S&amp;P MidCap 400 Index, is beating the S&amp;P SmallCap 600 Index while trailing the large-cap S&amp;P 500.
<h3>What Happened</h3>
It&#39;s not unusual for mid-cap stocks to outperform their smaller peers and, over longer holding periods, middle stocks have made a habit of beating large caps, too.
&ldquo;Mid-cap stocks have often been overlooked in favor of other size ranges in investment practice and in academic literature,&rdquo; said S&amp;P Dow Jones Indices <a href="https://us.spindices.com/documents/research/research-sp-midcap-400-outperformance-and-potential-applications.pdf">in a recent note</a>. &ldquo;Yet mid-cap shave outperformed large-and small-caps, historically:the S&amp;P MidCap 400 has beaten the S&amp;P 500 and the S&amp;P SmallCap 600 by an annualized rate of 2.03% and 0.92%, respectively, since December 1994.&rdquo;
Adding to the case for mid-cap ETFs such as IJH is that these funds are often less volatile than small-cap equivalents. Over the past three years, IJH&#39;s annualized volatility is 210 basis points below that of the S&amp;P SmallCap 600 Index.
<h3>Why It&#39;s Important</h3>
Even with the obvious benefits of mid-cap ownership, many investors, including professionals such as fund managers, remain under-allocated to the asset class.
&ldquo;Based on overall market capitalization, we might expect funds to allocate twice as much to mid-caps compared to small-caps,&rdquo; said S&amp;P Dow Jones. &ldquo;Instead, the aggregate core allocation to small-and mid-caps is approximately the same: investors appear to have a preference for small-caps over mid-caps in their core holdings.&rdquo;
Mid-cap funds can also be avenues for reducing sector and stock-specific risk. For example, none of IJH&#39;s holdings exceed a weight of 0.75% and its largest sector of 16.35% (financials) is well below the largest sector allocation in the S&amp;P 500 (technology).
<h3>What&#39;s Next</h3>
Fund managers underweight to mid caps may come by way of there being a dearth of active mid-cap funds to choose from, further boosting the allure of inexpensive, passive products like IJH.
&ldquo;Mid-cap was also the only category to report a decline in the total number of active funds between December 2003 and December 2018,&rdquo; according to S&amp;P Dow Jones. &ldquo;Combined with an apparent under-allocation of mid-caps compared to small-caps in core allocations, Exhibit 3 suggests that mid-caps have not received the same level of investor interest as small-caps.&rdquo;
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Stop Missing Out On Mid-Caps

Following a fairly volatile March that saw the Fed turn overtly dovish, it&rsquo;s not unreasonable to suspect that many traders and investors are looking for ways to re-allocate their capital to enhance returns and diversify their exposure across the equity market for the quarters ahead.
One avenue they could consider taking a cue from is the <a href="https://www.quantamize.com/Marketing/Q-Folios?utm_source=Bezinga&amp;utm_medium=Article&amp;utm_campaign=Which-Broad-Market-ETFs-Should-You-Buy-Right-Now'">Global Stocks ETF Q-Folio</a>, created and maintained by investment research platform <a href="https://www.quantamize.com/About/Learn-More?utm_source=Bezinga&amp;utm_medium=Article&amp;utm_campaign=Which-Broad-Market-ETFs-Should-You-Buy-Right-Now">Quantamize</a><a href="https://www.quantamize.com/About/Learn-More?utm_source=Bezinga&amp;utm_medium=Article&amp;utm_campaign=Which-Broad-Market-ETFs-Should-You-Buy-Right-Now">.</a> The Q-Folio&rsquo;s holdings are compiled and weighted by the platform&rsquo;s AI to create a robust diversified portfolio of ETFs from across the globe.
Below are the Q-Folio&rsquo;s top four ETF holdings by weight:
<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/files/u105576/1_30.png" onclick="imce.send('1_30.png'); return false;" title=""><img alt="1_30.png" src="https://www.benzinga.com/files/u105576/1_30.png" /></a> 
Image courtesy of Quantamize
You can see that, despite the March volatility, U.S. index ETFs dominate the top spots in the portfolio, which was reallocated at the start of the month.
Looking back over 2019&rsquo;s first quarter, all three of the large-cap, broad market ETFs managed to end each of the past three months in the green: the SPDR S&amp;P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPDR) and the PowerShares QQQ Trust (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/qqq#NASDAQ">QQQ</a>) both finished up by about 8 percent, while the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/vti#NYSE">VTI</a>) ended slightly higher at 8.6 percent.
<a href="https://www.quantamize.com/About/Learn-More?utm_source=Bezinga&amp;utm_medium=Article&amp;utm_campaign=Which-Broad-Market-ETFs-Should-You-Buy-Right-Now">Great Trade, Great Data, Always Free. Click here to learn more.</a>
Since then, SPDR and VTI have shed some momentum, both posting about a 3 percent gain over February, and just over 1 percent in March. QQQ has also slowed somewhat, picking up roughly 3.9 percent in February while logging just 3 percent growth in March.
In terms of fund flow, the VTI has been an industry leader over the last six months. And with the Q1 earnings season around the corner, it&rsquo;s possible that many broad market funds will see an upswell in volatility and fund flow. You can see below that, when compared to other broad market ETFs, investor capital coming into VTI far outpaces that of similar funds.
<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/files/u105576/2_23.png" onclick="imce.send('2_23.png'); return false;" title=""><img alt="2_23.png" src="https://www.benzinga.com/files/u105576/2_23.png" /></a> 
Image courtesy of Quantamize
However, while the broad, market-cap-weighted ETFs take the top spots in the Q-Folio, mid-caps are represented in the iShares Core S&amp;P Mid-Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/ijh#NYSE">IJH</a>), which is up about 16 percent YTD. That growth marks the best quarterly performance the ETF has seen in more than five years.
<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/files/u105576/3_16.png" onclick="imce.send('3_16.png'); return false;" title=""><img alt="3_16.png" src="https://www.benzinga.com/files/u105576/3_16.png" /></a> 
Image courtesy of Quantamize
In fact, IJH actually outperformed SPY, QQQ and VTI in both January and February, posting more than 10 and 4 percent gains in each of the respective months. However, it was also the only fund of the four to post a monthly loss of 0.9 percent in March.
While the recent record-setting gains in IJH might be appealing, the fund&rsquo;s extended performance actually improves its profile. You can see in the charts below that the fund&rsquo;s relative multi-year performance puts it as a solid middle-of-the-road choice among long-term broad market funds.
<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/files/u105576/4_5.png" onclick="imce.send('4_5.png'); return false;" title=""><img alt="4_5.png" src="https://www.benzinga.com/files/u105576/4_5.png" /></a> 
Image courtesy of Quantamize
Overall, mid-cap funds like the IJH are among the best performing broad market equity ETFs over an extended period. In fact, IJH beats out SPDR, QQQ and VTI over the past 20 years by more than 100 percentage points, and only trails the QQQ over a five-year span.
Given the start of a new quarter, investors would do well to consider broad market ETFs like these, as well as the other funds in the Global Stocks ETF Q-Folio, in order to capture fresh allocation activity happening across the equity space.
Quantamize is a content partner of Benzinga

Which Broad Market ETFs Should You Buy Right Now?

Historically, stocks perform well in the month of December, but that reputation was betrayed in significant fashion in 2018.
On a total return basis, which includes paid dividends, the SPDR S&amp;P 500 ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/spy#NYSE">SPY</a>), the world&#39;s largest exchange traded fund, lost 10 percent last month. Underscoring the weakness in U.S. equities to end 2018 is the point that SPY was far from being the worst offender among domestic broad market ETFs.
<h3>What Happened</h3>
Another point paints the picture of just how bad things were for U.S. stocks last month: the only other December on record that was worse for the S&amp;P 500 than December 2018 was December 1931 when the index tumbled 14.5 percent.
&ldquo;However, the widespread losses across sectors, styles and sizes in the broad U.S. equity market was remarkable with every major segment down in December,&rdquo; said S&amp;P Dow Jones Indices Managing Director Jodie Gunzberg <a href="http://www.indexologyblog.com/2019/01/02/the-2nd-worst-december-is-only-half-the-story/">in a recent note</a>.&nbsp;&ldquo;Only 9 times in history has every segment of the U.S. equity market lost in a month (with all sector data starting in 1995 and style data in 1997.) Those months were Aug. 2015, Sep. 2011, May and Jun. 2010, Jan. and Feb. 2009, Oct. 2008, and Jul. and Sep, 2002.&rdquo;
<h3>Why It&#39;s Important</h3>
As Gunzberg points out, mid- and small-caps weren&#39;t immune from the December downdraft. The iShares Core S&amp;P Mid-Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/ijh#NYSE">IJH</a>), which tracks the S&amp;P MidCap 400 Index, dropped 12.1 percent on a total return basis last month. The iShares Core S&amp;P Small-Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/ijr#NYSE">IJR</a>), which targets the S&amp;P SmallCap 600 Index, fell 12.7 percent in December.
&ldquo;Not only was every segment of U.S. equities negative in December but 33 of 42 segments had their worst December ever,&rdquo; said Gunzberg. &ldquo;For the 9 other segments, 7 recorded their 2nd worst Decembers and 2 had their 3rd worst Decembers.&rdquo;
For IJH and IJR, December 2018 was the worst December on record for those ETFs and that&#39;s saying something because both funds have lengthy track records, having debuted in May 2000.
<h3>What&#39;s Next</h3>
That&#39;s hard to forecast, but the Health Care Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/xlv#NYSE">XLV</a>) and Utilities Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/xlu#NYSE">XLU</a>) were among the sector ETFs that held up fairly well last month.
&ldquo;What&rsquo;s next for equities is impossible to know for sure, especially when there has only once been a December this bad,&rdquo; said Gunzberg. &ldquo;While the year ended down 6.2% for the S&amp;P 500, its worst in a decade, there were 22 years prior with worse returns.&rdquo;
History suggests January rebounds often follow dismal Decembers on par with December 2018, but there are some instances in which a bad December was followed by January declines.
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Sector ETFs

A December To Forget For Equity ETFs

Among the three major market capitalization segments &ndash; large, mid and small &ndash; large caps are usually the least volatile. That wasn&#39;t the case in November as the S&amp;P MidCap 400 Index was less volatile than the large-cap S&amp;P 500.
Historically, mid-cap stocks outperform large caps, but do so with more risk.
What Happened
The iShares Core S&amp;P Mid-Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/ijh#NYSE">IJH</a>), the largest mid-cap exchange traded fund tracks the S&amp;P MidCap 400. IJH&#39;s three-year standard deviation <a href="https://www.ishares.com/us/products/239763/">is 11.78 percent</a>, well above the 9.39 percent on the iShares Core S&amp;P 500 ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/ivv#NYSE">IVV</a>).
&ldquo;While the <a href="https://us.spindices.com/indices/equity/sp-400">S&amp;P MidCap 400</a> risk of 19.1% and <a href="https://us.spindices.com/indices/equity/sp-600">S&amp;P SmallCap 600</a> risk of 21.8% were also elevated ending Nov. 30, 2018, it is interesting to note the large-cap risk was higher than the mid-cap risk,&rdquo; said S&amp;P Dow Jones Indices <a href="http://www.indexologyblog.com/2018/12/03/mid-caps-less-risky-than-large-caps/">in a recent note</a>. &ldquo;The last November when this happened occurred in 2007.&rdquo;
As of Dec.&nbsp;3, IJH was up 1 percent year-to-date, trailing IVV and the S&amp;P SmallCap 600 Index, but the mid-cap has been less volatile than the S&amp;P 500 and the S&amp;P SmallCap 600 this year. IJH&#39;s maximum drawdown this year is also smaller than the S&amp;P 500&#39;s.
Why It&#39;s Important 
While mid caps can outperform large caps, consistently harnessing that theme without a buy-and-hold strategy can be difficult.
&ldquo;Going back to 1991, when the S&amp;P MidCap 400 was launched, it has delivered on average 3.2% extra of annualized return but at a cost of higher 1.4% annualized risk, based on daily data from Jan. 2, 1991 &ndash; Nov. 30, 2018.&nbsp; It seems attractive to have earned that premium but it is not available consistently,&rdquo; said S&amp;P. &ldquo;Note, over many commonly measured periods, mid-caps underperform large-caps.&nbsp; Though, in November, mid-caps outperformed.&rdquo;
Historical data also indicate that mid-cap stocks perform less poorly than large caps when markets decline. For every 1 percent the S&amp;P 500 declines, the S&amp;P MidCap 400 usually responds with a loss of 0.97 percent, according to S&amp;P data.
What&#39;s Next 
One reason IJH was sturdy last month was lack of exposure to the energy sector, the worst-performing mid-cap sector in November. IJH allocates just 4.51 percent of its weight to energy stocks, lower than all but two sectors represented in the fund.
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A Surprising Group Was Less Volatile Than Large Caps in November

Small-cap stocks and the relevant exchange-traded funds are trouncing their large-cap counterparts this year, a theme that isn&#39;t showing much sign of abating.
The iShares Core S&amp;P Small-Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/ijr#NYSE">IJR</a>), which tracks the S&amp;P SmallCap 600 Index, is up 18.3 percent this year while ETFs and index funds tracking the larges-cap S&amp;P 500 were higher by 9.7 percent.
<h3>What Happened</h3>
Last month, the <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/18/08/12238855/the-longest-bull-run-in-history-not-everybody-agrees">U.S. bull market became the longest on record</a>. Of course that means some stellar returns for the S&amp;P 500 and large-caps since March 10, 2009, but smaller stocks have been even more impressive.
&ldquo;While the record-breaking Bull market for the <a href="https://us.spindices.com/indices/equity/sp-500">S&amp;P 500</a> is spectacular, mid-caps and small caps did even better,&rdquo; <a href="http://www.indexologyblog.com/2018/09/04/the-biggest-bull-didnt-win/">said S&amp;P Dow Jones Indices</a>.&nbsp;&ldquo;The S&amp;P MidCap 400 posted an annualized 18.6% equity return and 20.5% with dividends, and the S&amp;P SmallCap 600 posted an annualized 20.9% equity return and 22.4% with dividends.&rdquo;
The iShares Core S&amp;P Mid-Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/ijh#NYSE">IJH</a>) and the SPDR S&amp;P MidCap 400 ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/mdy#NYSE">MDY</a>) are among the ETFs offering exposure to the S&amp;P MidCap 400 Index.
<h3>Why It&#39;s Important</h3>
Smaller stocks continue topping their large-cap rivals. Last month, IJR beat the S&amp;P 500 by 150 basis points. Two months into the third quarter, IJR is beating the S&amp;P 500 by 30 basis points on a quarter-to-date basis.
&ldquo;The small cap outperformance was widened in Aug. with a monthly return of 4.8% versus 3.3% for large caps and 3.2% for mid-caps,&rdquo; according to S&amp;P Dow Jones. &ldquo;It was the sixth straight positive month for small-caps delivering a total return of 20.0% over the period in the strongest run since the six months ending Mar. 2012, when the index gained of 31.2%.&rdquo;
Last month, nine of 11 small-cap sectors generated positive returns.
<h3>What&#39;s Next</h3>
Sectors such as health care and industrials are driving domestic small-cap benchmarks higher this year. Those sectors combine for nearly a third of IJR&#39;s weight.
&ldquo;For example, <a href="https://us.spindices.com/indices/equity/sp-600-industrials-sector">industrials</a>, the biggest sector in the S&amp;P 600, is having its best year since 1997, up 17.5% ytd, and its third best on record,&rdquo; according to S&amp;P Dow Jones. &ldquo;The smaller companies of this sector may be more insulated from U.S.-China trade tensions and also has less <a href="http://www.indexologyblog.com/2018/07/02/small-cap-premium-is-5th-biggest-in-history/">revenues coming from overseas</a> so has outperformed the large-cap industrials. Also, heath care in small caps is having its second best year on record, up 47.4%, the best ytd performance since 2000.&rdquo;
<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kqr-h-pmky4" width="560"></iframe>
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Small-Cap ETFs Kept It Rolling In August

For much of the current bull market in U.S. stocks, mid-cap equities and exchange traded funds have been leaders. That trend has cooled over the past several years.
For the three years ended July 30, the S&amp;P MidCap 400 Index trailed the large-cap S&amp;P 500 and the S&amp;P SmallCap 600 Index. Some market observers believe mid-caps can rise again, buoyed by tax cuts and increased mergers and acquisitions activity.
<h3>What Happened</h3>
While smaller stocks are rallying this year, mid-caps are being left behind. The SPDR S&amp;P MIDCAP 400 ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/mdy#NYSE">MDY</a>), which tracks the aforementioned S&amp;P MidCap 400, is up 4.1 percent year-to-date, putting it 170 basis points behind the S&amp;P 500. The S&amp;P SmallCap 600 is beating MDY by more than 2-to-1.
MDY&#39;s 399 holdings have market values ranging from $1 billion to $4.5 billion, though the standard <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/midcapstock.asp">widely accepted definition</a> of mid-cap is a stocks with a market capitalization of $2 billion to $10 billion.
<h3>Why It&#39;s Important</h3>
Regarding the impact of mergers and acquisitions, &ldquo;That&rsquo;s the market phenomenon where companies that are deemed potential takeover targets get bid up based on a higher anticipated acquisition price,&rdquo; <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com//news/articles/2018-07-30/mid-cap-stocks-still-have-room-to-run-as-m-a-effect-kicks-in">reports Bloomberg</a>. &ldquo;Many investors see mid-cap companies as a sort of sweet spot for deals, since they&rsquo;ve surpassed their infancy and shown their staying power but aren&rsquo;t expensive behemoths yet.&rdquo;
MDY allocates nearly 10 percent of its weight to the health care sector, a group that has already seen brisk consolidation activity this year, due in large part to the tax reform legislation passed in late 2017. The technology and consumer discretionary sectors, MDY&#39;s second- and fourth-largest sector weights, respectively, could also be fertile territory for larger acquirers.
Historical data suggest mid-caps are often favored targets. Since 2009, MDY has seen 10 percent more takeovers than its large-cap counterpart, the SPDR S&amp;P 500 ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/spy#NYSE">SPY</a>), according to Bloomberg data.
<h3>What&#39;s Next</h3>
While investors have been revisiting small-cap ETFs and sticking with some large-cap domestic equity funds, some mid-cap ETFs are doing fairly well in terms of year-to-date inflows.
The iShares Core S&amp;P Mid-Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/ijh#NYSE">IJH</a>), which also tracks the S&amp;P MidCap 400, and the Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/vo#NYSE">VO</a>), have seen combined 2018 inflows of $3.32 billion.
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M&A Could Make Mid-Cap ETFs Great Again

Broadly speaking, exchange-traded funds have been on a torrid pace of asset gathering through the first quarter, but there have recently been some signs of departures from large-cap equity funds. Data suggest investors are also retreating from some popular mid-cap ETFs.
In terms of outflows, March has not been kind to the SPDR S&amp;P MidCap 400 ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/mdy#NYSE">MDY</a>) and the iShares Core S&amp;P Mid Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/ijh#NYSE">IJH</a>). Both of those ETFs <a href="https://www.benzinga.com/trading-ideas/long-ideas/16/12/8848480/mid-cap-etfs-hit-by-departures">track the widely followed</a> S&amp;P MidCap 400 Index.
&ldquo;IJH has over $38 billion in assets under management, while MDY is the second largest Mid-Cap ETF behind it with $19.5 billion,&rdquo; said<a href="http://streetonefinancial.com/"> Street One Financial</a> Vice President Paul Weisbruch in a recent note. &ldquo;So while recent redemptions are certainly not gigantic in size, they&rsquo;re still&nbsp;notable nonetheless given the year-to-date underperformance MidCaps have displayed versus the Large-Cap S&amp;P 500 (trailing by nearly 300 basis points YTD).&rdquo;
<h3>Recent Investor Action</h3>
Since the start of March, investors have yanked almost $1.2 billion combined from IJH and MDY. With cyclical sectors in favor for much of this year, it is interesting that mid-cap ETFs such as IJH and MDY would be bleeding assets.
For example, IJH devotes over 18 percent of its weight to technology, one of this year&#39;s best-performing sectors. Additionally, cyclical financial services, industrial and consumer discretionary names combine for about 41 percent of the ETF&#39;s weight.
Some mid-cap ETFs are dodging the outflows trend. For example, the iShares S&amp;P Mid-Cap 400 Value ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/ijj#NYSE">IJJ</a>) has added nearly $53 million in new money this month. The $6.1 billion IJJ holds 286 and follows the S&amp;P MidCap 400 Value Index. IJJ allocates over 45 percent of its weight to financial services, technology and industrial stocks.
As has been the case with so many Vanguard ETFs this year, the Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/vo#NYSE">VO</a>) is packing on the assets. This month, investors have added $244.5 million to VO, bringing the ETF&#39;s year-to-date inflows total to over $1 billion. That is good for one of the best tallies among mid-cap ETFs.
VO only charges 0.08 percent per year, or just $8 on a $10,000 investment. That makes VO cheaper than 93 percent of competing funds, <a href="https://personal.vanguard.com/us/funds/snapshot?FundId=0939&amp;FundIntExt=INT">according to Vanguard data</a>.
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<a href="https://www.benzinga.com/trading-ideas/long-ideas/17/03/9177800/size-matters-with-small-caps-etfs">Size Matters With Small-Caps ETFs</a>

Investors Back Away From Mid-Cap ETFs

In a move that will be felt across the exchange traded funds industry, particularly <a href="https://investor.vanguard.com/corporate-portal/">in Pennsylvania</a>, BlackRock Inc.&#39;s (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/blk#NYSE">BLK</a>) iShares unveiled a significant round of fee cuts for iShares core suite of ETFs.

	BlackRock, the world&#39;s largest asset manager, launched the iShares core ETFs four years ago, targeting cost-conscious, long-term investors. Over the past several years, iShares has brought previously existing ETFs into the core suite while also adding new products to the group.

	The iShares core lineup is now comprised of <a href="https://www.ishares.com/us/products/etf-product-list#!type=ishares&amp;tab=overview&amp;view=list&amp;fst=50567">22 ETFs</a> and iShares, the world&#39;s largest ETF issuer, is lowering expense ratios on 15 of those funds.
<ul>
<li>
		The iShares Core S&amp;P 500 ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/ivv#NYSE">IVV</a>) is now charging 0.04 percent a year, or $4 on a $10,000 investment, down from a previous fee of 0.07 percent.</li>
<li>
		The iShares Core S&amp;P Mid-Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/ijh#NYSE">IJH</a>) and the iShares Core S&amp;P Small-Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/ijr#NYSE">IJR</a>) are now charging 0.07 percent annually, down from 0.12 percent.</li>
<li>
		The iShares Core High Dividend ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/hdv#NYSE">HDV</a>) and the iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/dgro#NYSE">DGRO</a>) - two dividend ETFs - now have expense ratios of 0.08 percent, down from 0.12 percent.</li>
</ul>

	Five of the international members of the iShares core lineup now have lower fees.
<ul>
<li>
		The iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/ixus#NASDAQ">IXUS</a>) is now charging 0.11 percent annually, down from 0.14 percent.</li>
<li>
		The iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/iefa#NYSE">IEFA</a>) has a new fee of 0.1 percent after previously charging 0.12 percent.</li>
</ul>

	Two of the iShares international core ETFs &ndash; the iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/ieur#NYSE">IEUR</a>) and the iShares Core MSCI Pacific ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/ipac#NYSE">IPAC</a>) &ndash; are now charging 0.1 percent per year after charging 0.12 percent. The iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/iemg#NYSE">IEMG</a>) has a new fee of 0.14 percent, down from 0.16 percent.

	Five of the iShares core fixed income ETFs also have lower expense ratios.

	Three of those ETFs &ndash; the iShares Core Total USD Bond Market ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/iusb#NYSE">IUSB</a>), iShares Core 1-5 Year USD Bond ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/istb#NYSE">ISTB</a>) and the iShares Core 10+ Year USD Bond ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/iltb#NYSE">ILTB</a>) &ndash; are charging 0.08 percent annually after carrying an annual fee of 0.12 percent.
<ul>
<li>
		The iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/agg#NYSE">AGG</a>), the largest fixed income ETF in the US, saw its fee pared to 0.05 percent from 0.08 percent.</li>
<li>
		AGG&#39;s international equivalent, the iShares Core International Aggregate Bond ETF (BATS: IAGG), is now charging 0.11 percent a year, down from 0.15 percent. IAGG is just 11 months old and already has more than $317 million in assets under management.</li>
</ul>

Emerging Market ETFs

DGRO

IEFA

IEMG

IEUR

ILTB

IPAC

ISTB

IUSB

IXUS

BlackRock Flexes Its Muscles In Fee Battle, Cuts Core ETF Prices

S&amp;P Dow Jones Indices <a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/restoration-hardware-holdings-set-to-join-the-sp-midcap-400-300245859.html">announced</a> after Monday's market close that Restoration Hardware Holdings Inc (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/rh#NYSE">RH</a>) will be added to the S&amp;P MidCap 400 index after Wednesday's market close.
<bzrelatedlink>Related Link: <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/news/16/02/6696307/index-shuffling-privatebancorp-to-join-s-p-midcap-400-cogent-communications-to-jo">Index Shuffling: PrivateBancorp To Join S&amp;P MidCap 400, Cogent Communications To Join S&amp;P SmallCap 600</a></bzrelatedlink>
Restoration Hardware will replace Atmel Corporation (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/atml#NASDAQ">ATML</a>) in the index, as Atmel's will be fully acquired by Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/mchp#NASDAQ">MCHP</a>) prior to Wednesday's scheduled index change.
Shares of Restoration Hardware were trading higher by nearly 3 percent early Tuesday morning.

ATML

MCHP

MDYV

Rydex ETF Trust S&P Midcap 400 Pure Growth ETF

Restoration Hardware To Join S&P MidCap 400 Index

Exchange traded products listed in the United States, including exchange traded funds, added just $2.4 billion in new assets last month, according to ETF research firm <a href="http://etfgi.com/news/detail/newsid/600">ETGI</a>.&nbsp;

	Still, net U.S. ETF inflows through the first eight months of the year were $127.5 billion and the U.S. ETF industry is now home to $2.03 trillion in combined assets under management, underscoring not only the industry&#39;s rapid growth, but investors&#39; growing preference for passively managed products.

	It is something to think about the next time a pundit says &ldquo;It&#39;s a stock picker&#39;s market,&rdquo; advice that endorses active investing, but the reality is 2015 is shaping up to be another year of mediocre performance for active managers. Data from <a href="http://us.spindices.com/">S&amp;P Dow Jones Indices&#39;</a> newly released U.S.&nbsp;S&amp;P Indices Versus Active Funds (SPIVA&reg;) Scorecard confirm as much.

	For the 12 months ended July 31, nearly two-thirds of active large-cap managers failed to beat their benchmark, according to S&amp;P Dow Jones Indices. The good news, sort of, for active managers and the investors that stick with this methodology is that the 65.3 percent failure rate of large-cap managers for the year ended July 31 is better than five- and 10-year laggard rates of 81 percent and 80 percent, respectively.

	Related Link: <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/trading-ideas/long-ideas/15/09/5829553/proshares-adds-to-dividend-growth-lineup-with-europe-etf">ProShares Adds To Dividend Growth Lineup With Europe ETF</a>

	It is not a leap of faith to infer from that data that, most of the time, investors would be better with low-cost, passive index product, including index ETFs such as the SPDR S&amp;P 500 ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/spy#NYSE">SPY</a>), iShares Russell 1000 ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/iwb#NYSE">IWB</a>) or the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/vti#NYSE">VTI</a>). In the case of the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF, that fund charges a scant 0.05 percent per year, or just $5 per $10,000 invested.

	Those thinking that inefficiencies found with small caps would lead to active management being the superior choice would be wrong. For the year ended July 31, 59 percent of active small-cap managers lagged the S&amp;P SmallCap 600. However, that is better than the five- and 10-year laggard rates, which averages 80 percent, according to S&amp;P data.

	&ldquo;It is commonly believed that active management works best in inefficient markets, such as small-cap or emerging markets. This argument is disputed by the findings of this SPIVA report. The majority of small-cap active managers consistently underperformed the benchmark in both the 10-year period and each rolling five-year period since 2002,&rdquo; said S&amp;P.

	The iShares Core S&amp;P Small-Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/ijr#NYSE">IJR</a>), which charges just 0.12 percent per year, has returned nearly 92 percent over the past five years.

	To be fair to active managers, there are some areas of strength, namely in the mid-cap space. For the 12 months ended July 31, just 48.2 percent of active mid-cap managers failed to beat the S&amp;P MidCap 400 Index. But, and there&#39;s always a &ldquo;but,&rdquo; 78 percent of active managers failed to beat the S&amp;P MidCap 400 over five years and 87 percent failed to beat that benchmark over 10 years, according to S&amp;P data.

	Perhaps that is why the iShares Core S&amp;P Mid-Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/ijh#NYSE">IJH</a>) and the SPDR S&amp;P MidCap 400 ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/mdy#NYSE">MDY</a>) have $40 billion in combined assets under management.

	&ldquo;With the exception of emerging market equity funds, funds invested in global, international, and international small-cap equity categories fared better or at par with their respective benchmarks over a one-year period,&rdquo; adds S&amp;P. &ldquo;Over the 10-year horizon, managers across all international equity categories were outperformed by their benchmarks.&rdquo;

	Though there are some standouts among actively managed bond funds, <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/trading-ideas/long-ideas/15/08/5764416/gundlachs-first-etf-is-a-smash-hit-tops-1-billion-in-assets">including some new ETFs</a>, fixed income is a veritable wasteland of slack performance by active managers. Over the past decade, 93 percent of managers running active long-term government bond funds lagged their benchmarks while just 7 percent of active junk bond managers beat their benchmarks, according to S&amp;P data.

Bonds

Intraday Update

Active Management Mediocrity Continues

The markets started off February with a strong bounce that erased much of January&rsquo;s decline, but uncertainty still lingers amid heightened volatility. The bellwether SPDR S&amp;P 500 ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/spy#NYSE">SPY</a>) is now virtually unchanged in 2015 after a series of whipsaws that have resulted in mostly sideways price action.

	The week ahead features several key economic releases including the Federal budget, January retail sales data and consumer sentiment.

	Here are the key ETFs to watch for the week of Monday, February 9:
<h3>
	Utility Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/xlu#NYSE">XLU</a>)</h3>

	The utility sector came under fire on Friday as a strong jump in interest rates propelled this defensive group lower. XLU tracks 32 large-cap energy-generation companies and was one of the best-performing major S&amp;P ETFs of 2014 as interest rates tumbled.

	Related Link: <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/news/earnings/15/02/5220958/from-coca-cola-to-tesla-here-are-the-68-most-important-earnings-expectat">From Coca-Cola To Tesla, Here Are The 68 Most Important Earnings Expectations For The Week</a>

	Utilities have traditionally shown an inverse correlation to interest rates (similar to bonds) as its stalwart business models make for equity safe havens.

	XLU is now below its 50-day moving average and the price action this coming week may continue to be dictated by machinations in the bond market.
<h3>
	Market Vectors Russia ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/rsx#NYSE">RSX</a>)</h3>

	Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine are set to continue this week, which may provide further stabilization in the Russian stock market. Combined with a jump in crude oil prices, RSX has the potential for additional positive momentum to develop.

	RSX tracks 49 large- and mid-cap companies in Russia and is one of the most heavily-traded ETFs that focuses on this Eastern European country.

	This ETF is now trading near its highest levels in the last two months and has recaptured its 50-day moving average. This may be considered a short-term bullish catalyst for technical traders that follow this emerging market index.
<h3>
	SPDR S&amp;P Mid Cap 400 ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/mdy#NYSE">MDY</a>)</h3>

	Mid-cap stocks experienced a strong rebound last week that led to a breakout to new highs. MDY is a well-known exchange-traded fund that tracks a composite of 400 companies with market capitalizations between $1 and $4.5 billion.

	A continued push higher next week could be viewed as a bullish sign that strength has filtered down from larger stocks to lesser known companies with solid growth prospects. In addition to MDY, another fund worth watching in this space is the iShares Core S&amp;P Mid-Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/ijh#NYSE">IJH</a>), which has over $24 billion in total assets.

Market Vectors Russia ETF Trust Shares of Beneficial Interest

Utility, Russia And Mid-Cap ETFs To Watch This Week

The market narrative this year has focused on the outperformance of large-cap stocks and underperformance of small-cap stocks. This trend has been persistently dominant as investors have sought the safety of larger companies with strong balance sheets and low volatility characteristics.

	One area that has been largely overlooked in this saga is the performance and price action of mid-cap stocks in 2014. There are currently 49 ETFs that track some aspect of the mid-sized capitalization market with varying focuses on growth, value, blend or fundamental indexes.

	The SPDR S&amp;P Mid Cap 400 ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/mdy#NYSE">MDY</a>) covers approximately 7 percent of the total U.S. equity market, which encompasses companies with $1.5 to $4.5 billion in market capitalization.

	<bzrelatedlink>Related Link: <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/etfs/specialty-etfs/14/09/4870232/deutsche-awm-celebrates-3-year-anniversary-of-currency-hedged-etfs">Deutsche AWM Celebrates 3-Year Anniversary Of Currency Hedged ETFs</a></bzrelatedlink>

	MDY contains 400 holdings with overweight exposure to financials, technology and industrial sectors. This ETF has more than $14 billion in total assets and charges an expense ratio of 0.25 percent.

	So far this year, MDY has gained 2.4 percent after hitting a high of as much as 8 percent at the end of August. The recent sell-off and return of volatility has prompted investors to reduce exposure in smaller and mid-sized companies to mitigate downside risk.

	MDY is now rapidly approaching its 200-day moving average, which it hasn&#39;t pierced in nearly two years.
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	A significant break below this long-term trend line may prompt additional defensive repositioning away from MDY and similar mid-cap indexes. A top competitor in this space is the iShares Core S&amp;P Mid-Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/ijh#NYSE">IJH</a>), which tracks the same 400 underlying stocks with a moderately lower expense ratio of 0.14 percent.

	Investors seeking an alternative option may want to consider the Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/vo#NYSE">VO</a>), which tracks the CRSP U.S. Mid Cap Index. VO has gained 6.6 percent this year and bested many competitors as a result of its varying sector and company exposure.

	As September volatility continues to work its way through the markets, keep an eye on these mid-cap ETFs for clues to stabilization or further downside risk.

3 Mid-Cap ETFs Face Important Test Of Support

Not quite as familiar as large-caps and often viewed as less sexy than small-caps, mid-cap stocks still offer plenty of opportunity.

	The proof is in the proverbial pudding.

	The SPDR S&amp;P 500 (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/spy#NYSE">SPY</a>) is up 19.5 percent year-to-date, but that lags the returns offered by the Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/vo#NYSE">VO</a>), the iShares Core Mid-Cap ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/ijh#NYSE">IJH</a>) and the SPDR S&amp;P MidCap 400 ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/mdy#NYSE">MDY</a>).

	Those three funds are among the dominant names in mid-cap ETFs, but they are far from the only products in this cap genre worth considering. Just as many mid-cap stocks go overlooked, the same can be said of some mid-cap ETFs that have been solid performers this year.

	Related: <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/trading-ideas/long-ideas/13/07/3757504/mid-cap-etfs-your-broker-forgot-to-mention">Mid-Cap ETFs Your Broker Forgot to Mention</a>.

	PowerShares S&amp;P MidCap Low Volatility Portfolio (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/xmlv#NYSE">XMLV</a>) 
	Conservative investors have embraced low volatility large-cap ETFs in a big way, helping make the PowerShares S&amp;P 500 Low Volatility Portfolio (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/splv#NYSE">SPLV</a>) <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/trading-ideas/long-ideas/13/04/3543255/king-of-low-vol-etfs-tops-5b-in-aum">one of the most successful ETFs</a> of any stripe to debut over the past two years.

	SPLV has small- and mid-cap cousins that came to market in February and the mid-cap play is the PowerShares S&amp;P MidCap Low Volatility Portfolio. XMLV operates in similar fashion to SPLV in that the mid-cap fund's holdings are culled from the 20 percent of an index's constituency with the lowest trailing 12-month volatility. XMLV's 80 holdings come by way of the S&amp;P MidCap 400 Index.

	The new mid-cap offering devotes nearly 77 percent of its combined weight to financial services and utilities names. Investors should also note small-cap growth and value names comprise a quarter of the fund's weight, <a href="http://www.invescopowershares.com/products/overview.aspx?ticker=XMLV">according to PowerShares data</a>. XMLV has annual fees of 0.25 percent and is up nearly 10 percent year-to-date.

	WisdomTree International MidCap Dividend Fund (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/dim#NYSE">DIM</a>) 
	The WisdomTree International MidCap Dividend Fund can help investors kill three birds with one stone: Mid-cap and international exposure with a dividend kicker. Given the current market environment with U.S. stocks looking significantly more attractive than most other major developed markets, investors need to evaluate the pros and cons of this ETF.

	DIM does have a 3.1 percent 30-day SEC yield and Japan and is 19 percent of the fund's country weight. However, DIM is not a currency hedged ETF, leaving it vulnerable to a rising yen. The U.K., the next best developed dividend market <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/trading-ideas/long-ideas/13/07/3771457/royal-dividends-u-k-etfs-may-have-dividend-allure">in dollar terms after the U.S., is DIM's second-largest country weight at 15.6 percent.</a>

	Overall, nearly half of the 21 countries DIM offers exposure are eurozone members. That levers the ETF to a possible rebound in that region, but also the possibility of further economic retrenchment. Annual fee: 0.58 percent.

	iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF (NYSE: <a class="ticker" href="/stock/iws#NYSE">IWS</a>) 
	The iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF is by no means a small ETF. Nearly $5.2 billion in assets under management affirms as much, but IWS is not the most talked about ETF. The most recent coverage of IWS includes one analyst calling the ETF "dangerous." If year-to-date returns of over 18 percent are "dangerous" then what are one-year returns of 30.5 percent? Sort of safe?

	Fact: IWS is favorably exposed to two of this year's top-performing sectors. Financial services combine for 33.7 percent of the ETF's weight. Combine producer durables and discretionary names and consumer discretionary represents another 21 percent.

	For more on ETFs, <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/etfs">click </a><a href="http://www.benzinga.com/etfs">here</a>.

WisdomTree Trust International MidCap Dividend

iShares Trust Russell MidCap Value Index Fund

PowerShares S&P 500 Low Volatility Portfolio