Fund Evaluator:

iShares Russell 2000 Small-Cap Idx Inv A Overview

iShares Russell 2000 Small-Cap Idx Inv A (MDSKX) is a passively managed U.S. Equity Small Blend fund. BlackRock launched the fund in 1997.

The investment seeks to match the performance of the Russell 2000® Index as closely as possible before the deduction of fund expenses. The fund is a "feeder" fund that invests all of its assets in the Series, a series of the Master LLC, which has the same investment objective and strategies as the fund. It will be substantially invested in securities in the Russell 2000, and will invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of its assets in securities or other financial instruments that are components of or have economic characteristics similar to the securities included in the Russell 2000.

About iShares Russell 2000 Small-Cap Idx Inv A (MDSKX)

There are 4 members of the management team with an average tenure of 3.50 years: Jennifer Hsui (2016), Peter Sietsema (2025), Matt Waldron (2025), Steven White (2025). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.

The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: Russell 3000 TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Russell 2000 TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. iShares Russell 2000 Small-Cap Idx Inv A has 1927 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 7.2% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

iShares Russell 2000 Small-Cap Idx Inv A is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the U.S. Equity fund group. iShares Russell 2000 Small-Cap Idx Inv A has 2.2% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 97.4%. There is 2.2% 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 Russell 2000 Small-Cap Idx Inv A has 0.5% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $284 million in total assets, which is below the $694 million average for the Small 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.

MDSKX 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 Russell 2000 Small-Cap Idx Inv A expense ratio is below average compared to funds in the Small Blend category. iShares Russell 2000 Small-Cap Idx Inv A has an expense ratio of 0.37%, which is 65% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a A. 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 Russell 2000 Small-Cap Idx Inv A has a portfolio turnover rate of 21%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 65% for the Small Blend category.

Recently, in the month of June 2026, iShares Russell 2000 Small-Cap Idx Inv A returned 3.6%, which earned it a grade of F, as the Small Blend category had an average return of 5.9%. 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 funds in that category.

iShares Russell 2000 Small-Cap Idx Inv A has a trailing yield of 0.82%, which is above the 0.41% category average. The fund normally distributes its income semi-annually 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 Russell 2000 Small-Cap Idx Inv A Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned 22.3%, 0.6 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of C. The fund has returned 40.3% over the past year (grade of B), 18.2% over the past three years (grade of B) and 6.7% per year over the past five years (grade of D) and 11.3% per year over the past 10 years (grade of C).

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