Make a recommendation to BlackRock on whether to launch a new multifactor ETF or not. Imagine yourself as the independent consultant and write accordingly. Support your case with the insights you have gained throughout the empirical analysis.

BlackRock actually launched its multifactor ETF in April of 2015. Go to Yahoo Finance and download the monthly prices for this fund since inception (Name: iShares MSCI USA Multifactor ETF, Ticker: LRGF), along with their S&P 500 index fund (Name: iShares Core S&P 500 ETF, Ticker: IVV). Calculate the annualized average monthly returns and the compound annual growth rate for both funds. Was the multifactor fund able to beat the S&P 500 out-of-sample?