iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (NYSEArca: QUAL)
AUM: $193.6 million
YTD: Up 8.8% since July debut
Comment: BlackRock’s (NYSE: BLK) iShares, the world’s largest ETF sponsor, is looking to bolster its smart beta footprint and QUAL is one of the firm’s offerings on that front. The ETF is home to 124 stocks weighted by high return on equity, stable year-over-year earnings growth and low financial leverage. Technology is by far the largest sector allocation at 38%, nearly double the weight given to consumer discretionary. Seven of QUAL’s top-10 holdings are tech stocks.