Roller coaster track

iShares Factor ETFs

FACTOR INVESTING

Factor ETFs employ the same persistent drivers of return as active managers, at a low-cost.

View all iShares Factor ETFs

WHAT ARE FACTORS?

Factors are broad, persistent forces that have historically been seen to drive returns of stocks, bonds and other assets.


Factor investing leverages advancements in today’s data and technology to deliberately seek these historical return drivers in portfolios. Understanding how factors work could potentially help you capture investment returns and reduce risk. iShares Factor ETFs employ the same intuitive screens used by active managers for generations, but offer the low cost and tax efficiency of traditional ETFs.

FACTORS SPOTLIGHT

TRY FACTORS ON FOR SIZE

When markets change, emotions run high. Use these tools to equip your clients with knowledge instead of fear. Analyze investments within a portfolio context in minutes & stress test portfolios to see how they might react against market events.

maintainance icon

Build a quality portfolio

This sample portfolio replaces traditional equity portfolio exposures with quality ETFs.

Build this portfolio in 360° Evaluator
balance icon

Test an existing portfolio

Stress test client portfolios to see how they could react to 30+ potential market events.

Stress test a portfolio in Scenario Tester

STRATEGIES FOR NAVIGATING TURBULANT CONDITIONS

In periods of market uncertainty, investors may be tempted to sell out of equities and sit in cash; however, investors could consider maintaining their equity allocations by adding resilience to their portfolios with quality and minimum volatility. Check out our latest ideas.

Minimum Volatility Strategies

Volatility is here- Min Vol ETFs can help keep your client’s invested.

Learn more about minimum volatility strategies

Quality Strategies

Learn how clients can maintain their long-term equity allocations & potentially add resilience to their portfolios with Qual and USMV.

Read the article

Consider these funds to position for resilience

EXPLORE FACTORS ETFS

We have identified five factors – value, quality, momentum, size, and minimum volatility – that have shown to be resilient across time, markets, asset classes, and have a strong economic rationale.

Minimum volatility investing seeks to build a portfolio of stocks that exhibits less variability than the broad market. It aims to provide investors with a smoother ride within equity allocations by creating a portfolio that exhibits less swings — up or down — than the market.

Equity

iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF

USMV

View

Resources
EXPLORE OUR FULL RANGE OF FACTORS ETFS

Quality investing strategies look for stocks that have higher quality earnings. That means that we’re looking for stocks that are profitable, have low leverage, and demonstrate consistent earnings over time.¹ Quality has traditionally outperformed the broad market during periods of high volatility.

Equity

iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF

QUAL

View

Resources
EXPLORE OUR FULL RANGE OF FACTORS ETFS

The size factor focuses on smaller, more nimble companies. Smaller companies may be more nimble, and can potentially more easily adjust and identify new investment opportunities in the marketplace. Smaller size companies have tended to perform well in the early stages of an economic upswing.

Equity

iShares MSCI USA Size Factor ETF

SIZE

View

Resources
EXPLORE OUR FULL RANGE OF FACTORS ETFS

Momentum investing is concerned with stocks that are trending in a particular direction. Sometimes investors are irrationally exuberant or incomprehensibly dour. The strategy tends to work best in upward or downward trending markets.

Equity

iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF

MTUM

View

Resources
EXPLORE OUR FULL RANGE OF FACTORS ETFS

Select stocks that are lower cost relative to their peers after controlling for fundamentals. Cheapness does not necessarily stand for upside potential –sometimes a stock or even a sector remains cheap for a reason. Value has tended to perform well in periods of growth or risk-on environments.

Equity

iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF

VLUE

View

Resources
EXPLORE OUR FULL RANGE OF FACTORS ETFS

Multifactor strategies build upon the long-standing concept of diversification: that combining exposures to multiple drivers of returns — otherwise known as factors — can help soften the effect of drawdowns and increase the potential for outperformance.

Equity

iShares U.S. Equity Factor ETF

LRGF

View

Equity

iShares U.S. Small-Cap Equity Factor ETF

SMLF

View

Equity

iShares International Equity Factor ETF

INTF

View

Equity

iShares Emerging Markets Equity Factor ETF

EMGF

View

Equity

iShares MSCI ACWI ETF

ACWI

View
EXPLORE OUR FULL RANGE OF FACTORS ETFS

FACTOR INVESTING INSIGHTS

Quality abroad: A time-tested approach for international investing

Aug 10, 2023 | Robert Hum, CAIA

Get the latest insight on why international quality may make sense. Help clients understand the benefits of investing abroad and why quality investing can help add another source of returns.

A Sharper Lens – Factors & Sectors

Jul 10, 2023 | Andrew Ang, PhD

It’s not factors versus sectors. It’s factors and sectors. Factors can help investors better understand their portfolios.

iShares 2023 Midyear Outlook

Jul 6, 2023 | Gargi Pal Chaudhuri

Read the iShares 2023 midyear outlook and implementation guide offering our views on what lies ahead for the rest of the year and what investors should do.

Q1 2023 Factor Performance Report: Insights for Investors

Jun 24, 2023 | Robert Hum, CAIA

Get the latest insights on factors in Q1 of 2023. Our in-depth quarterly analysis breaks down by region and style-box to help you deliver the best solutions for your clients.

What does the Fed pause mean for advisors and their clients?

May 23, 2023 | Gargi Pal Chaudhuri

When the Federal Reserve stops raising rates, history suggests advisors should consider having their clients step out of cash into stocks and bonds.

International Style

May 12, 2023 | Andrew Ang, PhD

Factor investing has seen increased popularity in the US. Investors may also want to consider increasing their opportunity set by considering factors abroad.

Rethink your volatility toolkit - quality & min vol

May 3, 2023 | Robert Hum, CAIA

Clients can maintain their long-term equity allocations and potentially add resilience to their portfolios with iShares tickers QUAL and USMV.

Quality Control

Apr 26, 2023 | Andrew Ang, PhD

Quality investing is not always exciting – but increased volatility and uncertainty in markets makes a compelling case for adding quality today.

Building resilience in the core with quality and min vol

Mar 28, 2023 | Robert Hum, CAIA

2023 volatility calls for portfolio protection. Learn how quality and minimum volatility exposures can potentially add resilience to portfolios during this period of market volatility.

Trends in factor investing in the 20th and 21st centuries

Feb 27, 2023 | Andrew Ang, PhD

Factor investing has evolved significantly over the 20th and 20th centuries. In this Angle, Andrew Ang investigates some of the key long and short-term trends.

The Next Factor Revolution: Fixed Income Factor ETFs

Oct 26, 2022 | Andrew Ang, PhD

Fixed Income Factor ETFs can enable investors to target well-established sources of return in an in a low-cost, transparent ETF.

Factors and That ‘70s Show

Sep 30, 2022 | Andrew Ang, PhD

There’s talk of recession. Inflation remains high. If a stagflation—high inflation and low growth—is on the way, which factors do you want to have exposure to?

Keeping clients invested with minimum volatility strategies

Sep 7, 2022 | Lukas Smart

Given today’s volatile market environment, minimum volatility strategies can be a great way to help clients stay invested by helping them manage risk.

Multifactor – the Moneyball of Investing

Aug 18, 2022 | Robert Hum, CAIA

Multifactor ETFs combine differentiated sources of return into one solution that can potentially reduce the cyclicality of each factor and seek to provide more consistent results.

A Mid-Year Factor Focus

Aug 9, 2022 | Andrew Ang, PhD

With higher inflation, rising interest rates, and worsening economic conditions, investors can use iShares Minimum Volatility and Value Factor ETFs to help capture potential upside and mitigate downside risk while maintaining their allocation to equities.

Factoring in Sustainability: A Worthy Pair

Mar 16, 2022 | Andrew Ang, PhD

We believe, pairing the minimum volatility factor and ESG can potentially deliver lower risk, better ESG scores, and lower carbon emissions.
SHOW MORE