Since then, through December 2024, the I shares' 13.1% annualized return trailed its S&P 500 benchmark's 14.4% gain but comfortably beat the typical large-blend category peer's 12.2% return.

In recent years, the fund’s aggregate quality metrics, like return on invested capital and its exposure to the quality factor in Morningstar’s Risk Model, deteriorated. Before 2020 ...