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RBC iShares ETFs are comprised of RBC ETFs managed by RBC Global Asset Management Inc. and iShares ETFs managed by BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited ("BlackRock Canada").

Investing in specific factors may help investors reach their goals by helping to reduce portfolio volatility or improve returns. Factors are the persistent and well-documented asset characteristics that have historically driven investment risk and return. A common way to access factors is through rules-based ETFs.

Watch time: 5 minutes 12 seconds

View transcript

We highlight five factors – value, quality, momentum, size, and minimum volatility – that have shown to be resilient across time, markets, asset classes, and have a strong economic rationale.1

Minimum Volatility
Minimum volatility investing seeks to build a portfolio of stocks that exhibits less variability than the broad market. It aims to provide investors with a smoother ride within equity allocations by creating a portfolio that exhibits less swings — up or down — than the market.

Product spotlight:

  • iShares MSCI Min Vol Canada Index ETF
  • iShares MSCI Min Vol USA Index ETF
  • iShares MSCI Min Vol EAFE Index ETF
  • iShares MSCI Min Vol Emerging Markets Index ETF
  • iShares MSCI Min Vol Global Index ETF
Quality
Quality investing strategies look for stocks that have higher quality earnings. That means that we’re looking for stocks that are profitable, have low leverage, and demonstrate consistent earnings over time. Quality has traditionally outperformed the broad market during periods of high volatility.2

Product spotlight:

  • iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor Index ETF
Size
The size factor focuses on smaller, more nimble companies. Smaller companies may be more nimble, and can potentially more easily adjust and identify new investment opportunities in the marketplace. Smaller size companies have tended to perform well in the early stages of an economic upswing.3

Product spotlight:

  • iShares S&P/TSX SmallCap Index ETF
  • iShares S&P U.S. Small-Cap Index ETF
Momentum
Momentum investing is concerned with stocks that are trending in a particular direction. Sometimes investors are irrationally exuberant or incomprehensibly dour. The strategy tends to work best in trending markets.4

Product spotlight:

  • iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor Index ETF
Value
Select stocks that are lower cost relative to their peers after controlling for fundamentals. Cheapness does not necessarily stand for upside potential –sometimes a stock or even a sector remains cheap for a reason. Value has tended to perform well in periods of growth or risk-on environments.5

Product spotlight:

  • iShares MSCI USA Value Factor Index ETF
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Additional resources

Learn more about the benefits of RBC iShares core fixed income ETFs. about the benefits of RBC iShares core fixed income ETFs.

RBC iShares

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Investors: Contact your financial advisor to discuss which investments may be right for you.

Disclosure

1. Fama, Eugene F & French, Kenneth R, 1992. "The Cross-Section of Expected Stock Returns," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 47(2), pages 427-465, June.
Novy - Marx, Robert, “The Other Side of Value: The Gross Profitability Premium , ” Journal of Financial Economics, 108(1) , 1 - 28, 2013.
Narasimhan Jegadeesh and Sheridan Titman, “Returns to Buying Winners and Selling Losers: Implications for Stock Market Efficiency”, Journal of Finance, March 1993.
Banz, Rolf W., 1981. "The relationship between return and market value of common stocks," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 3-18, March.
Ang, A., R. H. Hodrick, Y. Xing, and X. Zhang, 2006. The Cross Section of Volatility and Expected Returns, Journal of Finance 61, 259-299.

2. MSCI - "Flight to Quality" by Lim, Hung, Chia, Barman, and Muthrukrishnan (September 2015).

3. "Factor Timing with Cross-Sectional and Time-Series Predictors" by Hodges, Hogan, Peterson, and Ang (2017).

4. MSCI - "Riding on Momentum" by Gupta, Balint, Jain, and Melas (December 2015).

5. MSCI - "Finding Value" by Rao, Subramanian, Gupta, and Kassam (July 2015).

RBC iShares ETFs are comprised of RBC ETFs managed by RBC Global Asset Management Inc. and iShares ETFs managed by BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited ("BlackRock Canada").

Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with investing in exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Please read the relevant prospectus before investing. The performance data provided assumes reinvestment of distributions only and does not take into account sales, redemption, distribution or optional charges or income taxes payable by any securityholder that would have reduced returns. ETFs are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. Tax, investment and all other decisions should be made, as appropriate, only with guidance from a qualified professional.

The iShares ETFs are not connected, sponsored, endorsed, issued, sold or promoted by Bloomberg Finance L.P. and its affiliates, including Bloomberg Index Services, Limited (“Bloomberg”), Cohen & Steers Capital Management Inc., London Stock Exchange Group plc and its group undertakings (“LSE Group”, ICE Data Indices, LLC., ICE Benchmark Administration Limited, Jantzi Research Inc., Markit Indices Limited, Morningstar, Inc., MSCI Inc., MSCI ESG Research and Bloomberg, NASDAQ OMX Group Inc. or S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC. (“S&P”). None of these companies make any representation regarding the advisability of investing in the iShares ETFs. BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited is not affiliated with the companies listed above.

The Prospectus contains a more detailed description of the limited relationship the companies have with BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited and any related ETFs.

® / TM Trademark(s) of Royal Bank of Canada. Used under licence. iSHARES is a registered trademark of BlackRock, Inc., or its subsidiaries in the United States and elsewhere. Used under licence. © 2023 BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited and RBC Global Asset Management Inc. All rights reserved.

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Harnessing the power of factors - Factor ETFs | RBC iShares

Harnessing the power of factors

What is factor investing?

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® / TM Trademark(s) of Royal Bank of Canada. Used under licence. iSHARES is a registered trademark of BlackRock, Inc., or its subsidiaries in the United States and elsewhere. Used under licence. © 2025 RBC Global Asset Management Inc. and BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited. All rights reserved.
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