Play US And Revenues With IShares' New Large-Cap ETF

So far, small-cap stocks and related ETFs like iShares Russell 2000 Index Fund IWM were meant to provide true domestic exposure. Since small-cap stocks are less exposed to foreign markets, these are less scathed by a stronger greenback and economic upheaval abroad (read: Behind the Incredible 5-Year Run of Small Cap ETFs).

However, iShares recently launched a fund, iShares Russell 1000 Pure U.S. Revenue ETF AMCA, which is large-cap in nature but includes stocks that derive 85% or more of their sales from the United States and is a good replication of domestic economic health.

Inside AMCA

The fund tracks the performance of U.S. companies exhibiting higher domestic sales as a proportion of the company’s total sales relative to other large- and mid-capitalization U.S. equities, as per the issuer. All companies on the Russell 1000 Index with a domestic sales ratio of 90% or greater will get a chance to be included in the underlying index.

The ETF comprises 423 stocks with top holdings including AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) , Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) , having shares of 3.65%, 3.40% and 3.30%, respectively. The fund is highly concentrated on its top 10 holdings, which account for about 28.49% of the assets (read: Why You Should Bet on Blue Chip ETFs Now).

As far as sector allocation is concerned, Financials (24.1%), Consumer Discretionary (15.4%) and Utilities (10.5%) hold the top three spots in the fund. It is light on the technology, energy, industrials and consumer staples sectors. The fund charges 15 bps in fees from investors per year.

How Does it Fit in a Portfolio?

Investors should note that sales are harder to influence in an income statement than earnings. A company can land up on decent earnings numbers by adopting cost-cutting or some other measures that do not speak for its core strength. But it is harder for a company to mold its revenue figure. So, the revenue figure is extremely important in judging a company’s health.

Notably, the Q2 earnings season is in its tail end. Growth appears slightly weaker than the prior period, but beat ratios have emerged stronger, especially on the top line. This makes it important to have a look at the revenue-weighted products (read: 4 Sector ETFs Winning on Revenue Growth).

Moreover, U.S.-focused companies will cushion the fund against macroeconomic upheaval and negative currency translation.

ETF Competition

The newly launched ETF is less likely to face stiff competition thanks to conceptual novelty. The fund will not just revolve around revenues, it will target companies fetching more revenues from the United States.

However, the newbie may find Oppenheimer Large Cap Fund (BE:RWL) as its peer. The underlying index of RWL is created by “re-weighting the constituent securities of the S&P 500 Index according to the revenue earned by the companies in the S&P 500 Index” (read: Earnings or Revenue-Weighted ETFs: Finding the Q2 Winner).

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