BUYB vs ILCV

BUYBCProShares S&P 500 Buyback Aristocrats ETF

ILCVAiShares Morningstar Value ETF

In short

BUYB Dividend Aristocrats, but for share counts. BUYB was the first ETF built on S&P 500 companies that have shrunk their shares outstanding 10 years running, then weights them equally so no single mega-cap runs the show.

ILCV Value done the thorough way: roughly 400 large- and mid-cap US stocks screened on five separate value measures, not just cheap book value. Running since 2004 at four basis points, it's one of the cheapest tickets into the value factor.

Stated mandate

BUYB The Fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the performance of the S&P 500 Buyback Aristocrats Index. It uses a passive approach and generally invests in the index components or representative instruments.

ILCV The fund seeks to track an index of U.S. large- and mid-cap stocks selected with value-oriented measures including forward earnings, book value, sales, cash flow, and dividend yield.

Why people hold it

• BUYB A streak test, not a snapshot: the index picks S&P 500 names that reduced common shares outstanding for at least 10 consecutive years, so a single splashy buyback year doesn't earn a seat.sec.gov
• Equal weighting across a minimum of 40 companies gives every holding the same starting slice, a very different shape from cap-weighted large-cap exposure.sec.gov
• First mover on the idea: ProShares launched it in 2026 as the first ETF invested exclusively in companies with a persistent record of buying back their stock.proshares.com
• Shrinking share counts show up in share price rather than cash in your account, and the fund's own payout schedule is once or twice a year, not monthly.

• ILCV Charges 0.04% a year against a 0.32% median for its factor peer group. Undercuts well-regarded rivals like VONV (0.06%) and FNDX (0.25%).
• Value gets defined five ways: forward earnings, book value, sales, cash flow and dividend yield. Wider lens than a single price-to-book screen.ishares.com
• Spreads the bet across about 400 large- and mid-cap names and distributes quarterly.
• Trading since 2004 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund, it ranks among the strongest implementations in its factor cohort.

Worth knowing

• BUYB The 0.39% fee sits above the 0.29% median for its multifactor peer group, and index heavyweights like VYM (0.04%) and FNDX (0.25%) charge far less for broad large-cap factor exposure.
• A 2026 launch means no long tracking record yet, and a small, lightly traded fund can show wider bid/ask spreads than the category's established names.
• Buyback programs can be trimmed, paused, or timed poorly, and if too few companies clear the 10-year bar the index steps the requirement down toward five years.sec.govproshares.com

• ILCV One of the quieter tickers in its category. Thin volume means spreads matter more here than on a mega-cap index fund, and limit orders are the usual tool.
• Value-only by design. It skips the market's priciest growth leaders, so it moves differently from a total-market fund in both directions.ishares.com
• Large and mid caps only. Small-cap value sits outside the mandate.

Full BUYB profile⁠

Full ILCV profile⁠