EGUS vs IMCG

EGUSCiShares ESG Aware MSCI USA Growth ETF

IMCGAiShares Morningstar Mid-Cap Growth ETF

In short

EGUS Most ESG funds live in the middle of the market. EGUS moves the screen into the growth style box: it starts from MSCI's US large- and mid-cap growth universe, then optimizes toward better-rated ESG names while targeting risk and return close to the unscreened parent index.

IMCG Growth investing usually means megacaps. IMCG works the middle of the market instead: roughly 300 mid-cap growth names, indexed since 2004, for six basis points a year.

Stated mandate

EGUS The Fund seeks to track an index of U.S. large- and mid-capitalization equities with growth characteristics and positive environmental, social and governance characteristics.

IMCG The Fund seeks to track an index of U.S. mid-capitalization equities with growth characteristics. Its strategy uses representative sampling and generally invests at least 80% of assets in securities from the Underlying Index.

Why people hold it

• EGUS Not a bolt-on. The index is built by optimizing the MSCI USA Growth parent for ESG exposure while aiming to keep risk and return characteristics similar to it.msci.com
• Hard exclusions, not vibes: tobacco, controversial weapons, civilian firearms, thermal coal and oil sands are ineligible for the index.msci.com
• 0.18% a year buys the screen plus standard iShares index plumbing. Roughly 90 large- and mid-cap growth names, with distributions paid quarterly.ishares.com
• A 2023 launch that does exactly what the label says: US growth, ESG-screened, index-tracked, with the objective spelled out in the registration statement.

• IMCG 0.06% a year, one third of the 0.18% median for its growth-fund peer group. Mid-cap indexing at large-cap-index prices.
• The growth leaderboard is stacked with large-cap funds (VUG, SCHG, SPYG, VONG). IMCG covers the middle instead, holding about 300 mid-cap growth names.
• Sticks close to the Morningstar mid-cap growth index it follows, one of the tighter tracking jobs in its peer group.
• Running since 2004 under the iShares roof, with a multi-billion-dollar asset base behind it.

Worth knowing

• EGUS Small and thinly traded next to the big growth trackers, so bid-ask spreads can run wider and large orders need more care.
• Unscreened growth trackers charge far less (VUG at 0.03%, SCHG at 0.04%) than this fund's 0.18%. The ESG optimizer is what the extra buys.
• Roughly 90 names, and the optimizer can leave out growth companies you'd expect to see, so returns can drift from a plain growth index in either direction.msci.com

• IMCG Moderately traded rather than heavily traded, so bid-ask spreads can run wider than the megacap growth ETFs sitting beside it in the category.
• This is a size-and-style bet. Mid-cap growth companies tend to move more sharply than the broad market, in both directions.
• Distributions land quarterly, but a growth screen is not built around income.

Full EGUS profile⁠

Full IMCG profile⁠