ILCV vs ROUS

ILCVAiShares Morningstar Value ETF

ROUSBHartford Multifactor US Equity ETF

In short

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.

ROUS Most multifactor funds stack factors and hope. ROUS follows an index that blends value, quality, momentum and low volatility while explicitly aiming to run up to 15% less volatile than the market over a full cycle.

Stated mandate

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.

ROUS The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the total return of the Hartford Multifactor Large Cap Index. The index uses multifactor selection and risk controls to seek enhanced return potential while reducing volatility by up to 15% over a complete market cycle.

Why people hold it

• 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.

• ROUS Four factors in one ticker: value, quality, momentum and low volatility, selected by index rules rather than a manager's hunch.
• 0.19% a year, meaningfully below the typical fund in its multifactor peer group.
• The index carries its own risk controls and a stated aim of up to 15% lower volatility over a complete market cycle, not just factor tilts bolted together.
• Trading since 2015, across several very different market regimes, and one of the stronger builds in a crowded multifactor field.

Worth knowing

• 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.

• ROUS Thinly traded next to the mega index funds. Limit orders are the sensible default, and larger tickets need patience.
• Roughly 400 names weighted by rules, not market cap, so expect long stretches of looking nothing like the plain US large-cap benchmark, in either direction.
• Cheap for multifactor, but single-style peers such as VONV and VYM charge a fraction of it.

Full ILCV profile⁠

Full ROUS profile⁠