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Should SPDR Portfolio S&P 600 Small Cap ETF (SPSM) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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Launched on 07/08/2013, the SPDR Portfolio S&P 600 Small Cap ETF (SPSM - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by State Street Global Advisors. It has amassed assets over $3.98 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

Why Small Cap Blend

With more potential comes more risk, and small cap companies, with market capitalization below $2 billion, epitomizes this way of thinking.

Blend ETFs usually hold a mix of growth and value stocks as well as stocks that exhibit both value and growth characteristics.

Costs

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts if all other fundamentals are the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.05%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.05%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

ETFs offer a diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Financials sector--about 17.30% of the portfolio. Industrials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Gamestop Corp. Class A (GME - Free Report) accounts for about 1.07% of total assets, followed by Omnicell Inc. (OMCL - Free Report) and Macy's Inc (M - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 5.16% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

SPSM seeks to match the performance of the Russell 2000 Index before fees and expenses. The Russell 2000 Index measures the performance of the small-cap segment of the US equity market.

The ETF return is roughly 19.53% so far this year and is up about 56.02% in the last one year (as of 07/16/2021). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $26.29 and $45.30.

The ETF has a beta of 1.25 and standard deviation of 29.51% for the trailing three-year period. With about 617 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

SPDR Portfolio S&P 600 Small Cap ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, SPSM is an excellent option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Blend segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM - Free Report) and the iShares Core S&P SmallCap ETF (IJR - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 2000 ETF has $65.27 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P SmallCap ETF has $67.60 billion. IWM has an expense ratio of 0.19% and IJR charges 0.06%.

Bottom-Line

While an excellent vehicle for long term investors, passively managed ETFs are a popular choice among institutional and retail investors due to their low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency.

To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.

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