BlackRock, Inc. offers U.S. sector funds along with international and global sector funds through its iShares line of ETFs. The iShares industry sector offerings include the following:
| U.S. Sector Fund Name | Ticker |
|---|---|
| iShares Dow Jones U.S. Basic Materials Index | IYM |
| iShares Dow Jones U.S. Consumer Goods Index | IYK |
| iShares Dow Jones U.S. Consumer Services Index | IYC |
| iShares Dow Jones U.S. Energy Index | IYE |
| iShares Dow Jones U.S. Financial Sector Index | IYF |
| iShares Dow Jones U.S. Financial Services Index | IYG |
| iShares Dow Jones U.S. Healthcare Index | IYH |
| iShares Dow Jones U.S. Industrial Index | IYJ |
| iShares Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Index | IYR |
| iShares Dow Jones U.S. Technology Index | IYW |
| iShares Dow Jones U.S. Telecommunications Index | IYZ |
| iShares Dow Jones Transportation Average Index | IYT |
| iShares Dow Jones U.S. Utilities Index | IDU |
| iShares Cohen & Steers Realty Majors Index | ICF |
| International Sector Fund Name | Ticker |
|---|---|
| iShares MSCI ACWI ex-US Energy Sector Index Fund | AXEN |
| iShares MSCI ACWI ex-US Consumer Staples Sector Index Fund | AXSL |
| iShares MSCI ACWI ex-US Materials Sector Index Fund | AXMT |
| iShares MSCI ACWI ex-US Industrials Sector Index Fund | AXID |
| iShares MSCI ACWI ex-US Telecommunication Services Sector Index Fund | AXTE |
| Global Sector Fund Name | Ticker |
|---|---|
| iShares S&P Global Energy | IXC |
| iShares S&P Global Materials | MXI |
| iShares S&P Global Technology | IXN |
| iShares S&P Global Timber & Forestry | WOOD |
| iShares S&P Global Utilities | JXI |
For domestic industry-sector funds BlackRock, Inc. (sponsor of iShares) simply charges too much. With the exception of the iShares Cohen & Steers Realty Majors Index (REIT) ETF, which carries an expense ratio of 0.35 percent, all the other iShares sector options are 0.47 or (in most cases) 0.48 percent. That’s about double the cost of either the Vanguard ETFs or Select Sector SPDRs.
On the international and global front, however, the iShares ETFs are competitive with SPDRs: Most charge 0.48 percent in management fees. And the iShares lineup offers more global sector funds than any other ETF provider. (The ones listed here are just a representative sampling.) If you want to divide your portfolio into global sectors, iShares is the place to go.
