At a glance
IGV charges 0.38% a year, below the 0.43% average of the 8 funds most like it (the 4th cheapest of 9). It has $13.54B in assets, the 3rd largest of that group; it paid 0.02% of its price in distributions over the past 12 months, annual. Over the past year it returned −11.8% with distributions reinvested (S&P 500: +11.5%), the weakest of those 9 funds; over three years it returned +13.8% a year. At its worst it fell 30.3% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 37.7% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 2 months and 14 months after the lows. Its ten largest positions make up 60.7% of the fund, out of 107 in all.
The short version
The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) is a BlackRock index fund. It tracks the S&P North American Expanded Technology Software Index, which holds mostly US software companies plus some video game and interactive media firms. It is concentrated: as of June 30, 2026, its 10 largest holdings, led by Palo Alto Networks and Microsoft, made up about 61% of assets. Its 0.38% expense ratio is a little below the 0.43% average for similar funds.
Price history
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IGV -11.8% over the year to Nov 2, 2026, total return with distributions reinvested.
How it has behaved
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | Since start | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IGV official prospectus, to Dec 31, 2025 | — | +5.62% | — | +8.35% | +17.90% | — |
| S And P Total Market Index index, same period | — | +17.05% | — | +13.07% | +14.22% | — |
| S And P North American Expanded Technology index, same period | — | +6.00% | — | +8.66% | +18.25% | — |
| IGV price data to Nov 2, 2026 | -3.6% | -11.8% | +13.8% | +3.0% | +16.6% | +12.9% |
- Over the year to Nov 2, 2026, IGV returned -11.8%, 9th of 9 among similar funds.
- Its 5-year annualized return was +3.0% and its 10-year +16.6%.
- In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 30.3% and regained its old high 2.4 months after the low.
- Its worst full calendar year was 2008 (-38.4%); its best was 2023 (+58.7%).
- The deepest fall in its price history was 49.8% (Oct 31, 2007 to Nov 20, 2008), recovered by Oct 26, 2010.
Show as a table
| Year | Price data | Prospectus (official) |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | -3.6% | — |
| 2025 | +5.6% | +5.62% |
| 2024 | +23.4% | +23.40% |
| 2023 | +58.7% | +58.47% |
| 2022 | -35.7% | -35.57% |
| 2021 | +12.3% | +12.23% |
| 2020 | +52.9% | +52.83% |
| 2019 | +34.3% | +34.36% |
| 2018 | +12.4% | +12.43% |
| 2017 | +42.1% | +42.16% |
| 2016 | +5.8% | +5.87% |
| 2015 | +12.1% | — |
| 2014 | +13.3% | — |
| 2013 | +30.3% | — |
| 2012 | +16.5% | — |
| 2011 | -7.3% | — |
| 2010 | +24.6% | — |
| 2009 | +47.5% | — |
| 2008 | -38.4% | — |
| 2007 | +15.5% | — |
| 2006 | +11.0% | — |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Lost 47.8% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 49.8%, back to its old high 23.2 months after the low |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 28.6% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 30.3%, back to its old high 2.4 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 37.6% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 37.7%, back to its old high 13.7 months after the low |
Dividends and income
Show as a table
| Year | Per share | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | $0.0200 | |
| 2023 | $0.0723 | +1707.5% |
| 2022 | $0.0040 | -52.9% |
| 2021 | $0.0085 | -96.7% |
| 2020 | $0.2561 | +2461.0% |
| 2019 | $0.0100 | -82.1% |
| 2018 | $0.0560 | +99.3% |
| 2017 | $0.0281 | -84.2% |
| 2016 | $0.1780 | +270.8% |
| 2015 | $0.0480 | +59.5% |
| 2014 | $0.0301 | +178.7% |
| 2013 | $0.0108 | +58.8% |
| 2012 | $0.0068 | +655.6% |
| 2011 | $0.0009 | |
| 2006 | $0.0000 |
What's inside
As of Jun 30, 2026, the fund held 107 securities; the ten largest made up 60.66% of assets. It also reported 5.93% in a money-market fund, most likely cash collateral from lending out shares rather than uninvested money.
| Holding | Weight | |
|---|---|---|
| Palo Alto Networks, Inc. | 10.37% | |
| Microsoft Corp. | 8.07% | |
| Palantir Technologies, Inc. | 7.70% | |
| Crowdstrike Holdings, Inc. | 7.28% | |
| Oracle Corp. | 6.26% | |
| Salesforce, Inc. | 4.81% | |
| AppLovin Corp. | 4.76% | |
| Cadence Design Systems, Inc. | 3.91% | |
| ServiceNow, Inc. | 3.87% | |
| Fortinet, Inc. | 3.62% | |
| Datadog, Inc. | 3.26% | |
| Synopsys, Inc. | 3.23% | |
| Adobe, Inc. | 3.13% | |
| Intuit, Inc. | 2.73% | |
| Electronic Arts, Inc. | 1.75% |
By country
United States 99.02%Canada 0.74%Netherlands 0.2%By asset type
Stocks 99.95%By sector
Sectors of the companies held, for the 86% of the fund in companies that have a stock page here; other holdings and cash aren't classified. Source: N-PORT holdings report as of Jun 30, 2026. Cash, money-market funds and derivatives are shown separately from the securities list.What changed recently
- Over the three months to Jun 30, 2026, investors added a net $1.80B (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
- Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +4.84%, +21.11%, -10.84%.
How it works
IGV follows the S&P North American Expanded Technology Software Index, built by S&P Dow Jones Indices. The index covers US-traded software companies and selected companies from the interactive home entertainment and interactive media and services industries in the US and Canada. It can include large, mid-size and small companies. The index provider, not BlackRock, decides which stocks are in the index and how much each one weighs.
BlackRock uses "representative sampling." This means the fund may not hold every stock in the index. Instead it holds a group of stocks chosen to match the index's size, industry mix and other traits. The fund must keep at least 80% of its net assets in index stocks. It may also use derivatives, which are contracts whose value comes from other assets. As of June 30, 2026, it held two stock index futures with very small exposure. It held 107 stocks, led by Palo Alto Networks (10.4%), Microsoft (8.1%), Palantir Technologies (7.7%) and CrowdStrike (7.3%).
The fund is "non-diversified," which means it can put more of its money into a few companies than a diversified fund can. It may lend out securities worth up to one-third of its total assets. Lending earns extra income but adds a small risk that a borrower fails to return them. Portfolio turnover was 19%.
What it really costs
- IGV charges 0.38% a year, versus an average of 0.43% for the similar funds below (4th of 9, cheapest first).
- Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $39 in the first year and $480 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).
| Cost of $10,000 (SEC example) | 1 yr | 3 yrs | 5 yrs | 10 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IGV | $39 | $122 | $213 | $480 |
In a retirement portfolio
IGV is a concentrated, volatile bet on one industry that pays almost no income, so it may fit as a small add-on rather than a foundation.
IGV adds focused exposure to software companies, but its losses in downturns have been deep. It fell 49.8% from October 31, 2007, to November 20, 2008, and took about 23 months to recover. It dropped 30.3% in the 2020 COVID crash and recovered in about 2.4 months. In the 2022 bear market it lost 37.7% and needed about 13.7 months to recover. Its worst calendar year was 2008, at -38.4%. Anyone who had to sell shares during one of those stretches would have locked in large losses. The fund provides almost no income. Its trailing 12-month yield was 0.02% as of October 29, 2026, paid once a year. In the SEC's standard example, $10,000 costs $39 in fees in the first year. Past results don't predict the future, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.
Who it may suit — and who should look elsewhere
May suit
- Investors who want focused exposure to North American software companies such as Microsoft, Oracle, Salesforce and CrowdStrike alongside a broader portfolio.
- People who can ride out big swings: the fund fell 49.8% around 2008 and 37.7% in 2022 before recovering.
- Investors who want a large software fund ($13.5 billion as of June 30, 2026) at 0.38%, below the 0.43% average for similar funds.
Look elsewhere if
- Retirees who need income: the trailing yield was 0.02% as of October 29, 2026, paid just once a year.
- Cost-focused investors who want broader technology exposure; Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT) charges 0.09% a year.
- Investors wary of concentration: the top 10 holdings were about 61% of assets as of June 30, 2026, with Palo Alto Networks above 10%.
Close alternatives
Matched by holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports.
| Fund | Overlap | Cost | Net assets | 1 yr | 3 yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IGV this fund | — | 0.38% | $13.54B | -11.8% | +13.8% |
| CLOD Themes Cloud Computing ETF | 62% | 0.35% | $2.5M | +1.1% | — |
| DRUP GraniteShares Nasdaq Select Disruptors ETF | 34% | 0.6% | $46.6M | +5.1% | +25.3% |
| XDAT Franklin Exponential Data ETF | 31% | 0.5% | $3.7M | -4.2% | +16.8% |
| CIBR First Trust NASDAQ Cybersecurity ETF | 28% | 0.59% | $13.84B | +25.8% | +29.6% |
| QTEC First Trust NASDAQ-100 Technology Sector In… | 27% | 0.57% | $4.99B | +27.5% | +30.9% |
| FCLD Fidelity Cloud Computing ETF | 25% | 0.4% | $110.4M | +46.9% | +36.5% |
| XAIX Xtrackers Artificial Intelligence and Big D… | 24% | 0.35% | $173.4M | +31.0% | — |
Questions investors ask
Is IGV good for retirement?
IGV may suit a retirement portfolio only as a small, higher-risk add-on. It focuses on a single industry, software, and is classified as non-diversified. It lost 37.7% in the 2022 bear market and 49.8% around the 2008 financial crisis, needing about 14 and 23 months to recover. It pays almost no income, with a trailing yield of 0.02% as of October 29, 2026. Retirees who may need to sell in a bad year face a real risk of selling at a loss.
What's the difference between IGV and VGT?
IGV focuses on software, while the Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT) is a broader technology fund. Their holdings overlap by about 23%, based on the latest N-PORT reports. VGT costs much less, at 0.09% a year versus 0.38% for IGV, and is much larger, at about $170.7 billion in net assets as of August 31, 2026. Over the year through October 29, 2026, VGT returned 23.4% while IGV lost 6.3%. The fund with the highest overlap with IGV, at 62%, is the much smaller Themes Cloud Computing ETF (CLOD).
Does IGV pay dividends?
Yes, but the amount is tiny. IGV pays a distribution once a year, and its trailing 12-month yield was 0.02% as of October 29, 2026. That works out to about two cents per share over the past year. Many software companies reinvest their profits or buy back shares instead of paying large dividends. So this fund's returns come almost entirely from price changes, not income.
What are IGV's top holdings?
As of June 30, 2026, IGV's largest holdings were Palo Alto Networks (10.4%), Microsoft (8.1%), Palantir Technologies (7.7%), CrowdStrike (7.3%) and Oracle (6.3%). Salesforce, AppLovin, Cadence Design Systems, ServiceNow and Fortinet complete the top 10. Together those 10 made up about 61% of the fund, out of 107 stocks in total. About 99% of assets were in US companies, and Canada made up most of the rest.
How has IGV performed over the long run?
IGV has delivered strong but uneven long-term returns. As of December 31, 2025, its average annual return was 17.9% over 10 years, ahead of the S&P Total Market Index's 14.22%. It trailed that index over 5 years (8.35% vs. 13.07%) and 1 year (5.62% vs. 17.05%). Its yearly results have swung widely, from 58.47% in 2023 to -35.57% in 2022. Based on price, it returned -6.3% over the year through October 29, 2026.