iShares U.S. Telecommunications ETF

iShares U.S. Telecommunications ETF (IYZ), from BlackRock, tracks the Russell 1000 Telecommunications RIC 22.5/45 Capped Index. That index holds large and mid-size U.S. telecommunications stocks. The fund is concentrated: as of June 30, 2026, it held 24 stocks, Cisco Systems alone was about 23% of assets, and the top 10 made up about 69%. Its 0.37% expense ratio is above the 0.23% average of similar funds.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, IYZ returned +22.4%, 2nd of 5 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +6.6% and its 10-year +4.7%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 26.2% and regained its old high 8.3 months after the low.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2008 (-42.0%); its best was 2006 (+32.6%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 61.5% (Jul 16, 2007 to Nov 20, 2008), recovered by Oct 17, 2013.

As of Jun 30, 2026, the fund held 24 securities; the ten largest made up 69.49% of assets. It also reported 8.78% in a money-market fund, most likely cash collateral from lending out shares rather than uninvested money.

By sector

• Over the three months to Jun 30, 2026, investors added a net $388.0M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +7.32%, +5.65%, -4.70%.

IYZ follows an index built by FTSE Russell, part of the London Stock Exchange Group. The index starts with the Russell 1000, which covers roughly the 1,000 largest U.S. companies, and keeps the ones Russell puts in the telecommunications sector. Stocks are weighted by float-adjusted market value. That means larger companies, measured by the shares actually available to trade, get bigger weights. At each quarterly rebalance, caps apply: no single company can be more than 22.5% of the index, and companies above 4.5% each can't total more than 45%. Between rebalances, price moves can push weights past these limits.

BlackRock uses "representative sampling." Instead of buying every index stock, it holds a mix chosen to behave like the index. As of June 30, 2026, the fund held 24 stocks. Under normal conditions, at least 80% of assets must be in index stocks. The rest can go to cash, money market funds, derivatives such as stock index futures, or other securities that help it track the index.

The fund may lend up to one-third of its assets to other investors for a fee. Cash was 8.8% of holdings as of June 30, 2026, and was likely collateral from this lending. The fund is "non-diversified," so it can put more money into a few companies than a typical fund. Portfolio turnover was 44%.

• IYZ charges 0.37% a year, versus an average of 0.23% for the similar funds below (4th of 5, cheapest first).
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $38 in the first year and $468 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

IYZ is a concentrated, non-diversified bet on one corner of the market, and it has had deep, long-lasting drops.

IYZ could add a targeted slice of telecom and networking stocks around a broad core. Its history shows the risk. It fell 60.4% in the 2008 financial crisis, and 2008 was its worst calendar year at -42%. Its deepest drop, 61.5% from July 2007 to November 2008, took about 59 months to recover. It lost 26.2% in the 2020 COVID crash and recovered in about 8 months. It lost 37.5% in the 2022 bear market and took about 34 months to recover. Anyone who has to sell shares in a slump like these could lock in losses. Income is modest: a 1.69% trailing yield as of October 27, 2026, paid quarterly. Under the SEC's standard example, costs are $38 for the first year on $10,000. Past results don't predict future returns, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports.