iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF

What this fund is

iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) from iShares, traded under the ticker MTUM (ISIN US46432F3964). In a single purchase you get a diversified basket of holdings rather than a stake in just one business. In plain terms it is about owning small slices of companies, so you share in their growth when they do well — and their falls when they don't, spread across its target market. It follows the MSCI USA index (passive investing): it tracks the market rather than relying on a manager, keeping running costs down.

It is commonly used to tilt a portfolio towards one market, usually alongside broader, more global funds rather than on its own. Its ongoing charge (TER) is 0.15% a year — about €15 a year on a €10,000 holding, taken automatically from the fund. It holds the underlying investments directly (physical replication). Its price has swung about 23.6% over the past year, which describes how much its price tends to move rather than whether it is good.

It launched in 2013. As with any investment, its value can go down as well as up, and past performance is not a guide to future results. (Fund data sourced from iShares.)