ETF Evaluator: iShares Disciplined Vol Eq Act ETF () Follow This ETF

iShares Disciplined Vol Eq Act ETF Overview

iShares Disciplined Vol Eq Act ETF (BDVL) is an actively managed International Equity Global Large-Stock Blend exchange-traded fund (ETF). BlackRock launched the ETF in 2017.

The investment seeks to provide risk-adjusted total return. The fund will, under normal circumstances, invest at least 80% of its net assets (plus borrowings for investment purposes) in equity securities. It seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing in both equity and fixed-income securities, including money market securities and other short-term securities or instruments that the fund management team believes may offer attractive risk-adjusted returns. Equity securities include common stock, preferred stock, ADRs, or securities or other instruments whose price is linked to the value of common stock.

About iShares Disciplined Vol Eq Act ETF (BDVL)

There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 6.28 years: Rick Rieder (2021), Russ Koesterich (2017) and Randy Berkowitz (2021). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.

The ETF has 2 primary benchmarks: MSCI World NR USD index with a weighting of 100% and MSCI ACWI Minimum Vol (USD) NR USD index with a weighting of 100%. iShares Disciplined Vol Eq Act ETF has 743 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 14.4% of the ETF’s assets. The ETF meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The ETF is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

iShares Disciplined Vol Eq Act ETF is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the International Equity ETF group. iShares Disciplined Vol Eq Act ETF has 35.3% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 60.3% There is 35.3% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 0.0% (0.0% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). iShares Disciplined Vol Eq Act ETF has 4.5% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $1 billion in total assets, which is below the $2 billion average for the Global Large-Stock Blend category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.

BDVL Performance and Fees

The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The iShares Disciplined Vol Eq Act ETF expense ratio is average compared to funds in the Global Large-Stock Blend category. iShares Disciplined Vol Eq Act ETF has an expense ratio of 0.40%, which is 19% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a B. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.

High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. iShares Disciplined Vol Eq Act ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 193%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 50% for the Global Large-Stock Blend category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, iShares Disciplined Vol Eq Act ETF returned 0.9%, which earned it a grade of B, as the Global Large-Stock Blend category had an average return of 0.0%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all ETFs in that category.

iShares Disciplined Vol Eq Act ETF has a trailing yield of 0.00%, which is below the 1.66% category average. The fund normally distributes its income semi-annually.

It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.

iShares Disciplined Vol Eq Act ETF Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned 6.8%, 2.3 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of D. The fund has returned 11.6% over the past year (grade of F), 13.0% over the past three years (grade of D) and 8.1% per year over the past five years (grade of D).

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