ETF Evaluator: iShares US Telecommunications ETF () Follow This ETF

iShares US Telecommunications ETF Overview

iShares US Telecommunications ETF (IYZ) is a passively managed Sector Equity Communications exchange-traded fund (ETF). iShares launched the ETF in 2000.

The investment seeks to track the investment results of the Russell 1000 Telecommunications RIC 22.5/45 Capped Index. The fund generally will invest at least 80% of its assets in the component securities of its underlying index and in investments that have economic characteristics that are substantially identical to the component securities of its underlying index. The underlying index measures the performance of the telecommunications sector of the U.S. equity market, as defined by FTSE Russell. The fund is non-diversified.

About iShares US Telecommunications ETF (IYZ)

There are 4 members of the management team with an average tenure of 4.48 years: Jennifer Hsui (2012), Peter Sietsema (2025), Matt Waldron (2025) and Steven White (2025). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.

The ETF has 2 primary benchmarks: Russell 3000 TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Russell 1000 Tele RIC 22.5/45 Cap TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. iShares US Telecommunications ETF has 28 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 72.1% of the ETF’s assets. The ETF meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a nondiversified fund. The ETF is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

iShares US Telecommunications ETF is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the Sector Equity ETF group. iShares US Telecommunications ETF has 5.1% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 94.9% There is 5.1% 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 US Telecommunications ETF has 0.0% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $1 billion in total assets, which is below the $1 billion average for the Communications 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.

IYZ 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 US Telecommunications ETF expense ratio is below average compared to funds in the Communications category. iShares US Telecommunications ETF has an expense ratio of 0.37%, which is 11% 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 US Telecommunications ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 44%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 36% for the Communications category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, iShares US Telecommunications ETF returned -2.7%, which earned it a grade of F, as the Communications category had an average return of 0.8%. 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 US Telecommunications ETF has a trailing yield of 1.71%, which is above the 0.95% category average. The fund normally distributes its income quarterly and its capital gains 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 US Telecommunications ETF Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned 22.4%, 26.4 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 40.7% over the past year (grade of A), 25.1% over the past three years (grade of A) and 6.3% per year over the past five years (grade of C) and 4.3% per year over the past 10 years (grade of F).

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