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Is iShares International Small (ISCF) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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A smart beta exchange traded fund, the iShares International Small (ISCF - Free Report) debuted on 04/28/2015, and offers broad exposure to the World ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.
A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.
If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.
By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Blackrock, and has been able to amass over $615.28 million, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the World ETFs. ISCF seeks to match the performance of the MSCI World exUSA Small Cap Diversified Multiple-Factor Index before fees and expenses.
The MSCI World exUSA Small Cap Diversified Multiple-Factor Index is designed to select equity securities from MSCI World ex USA Small Cap Index that have high exposure to four investment style factors: value, quality, momentum and low size.
Cost & Other Expenses
Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.23% for ISCF, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.68%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Most ETFs are very transparent products, and disclose their holdings on a daily basis. ETFs also offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, though it's still important for investors to research a fund's holdings.
Looking at individual holdings, Ct Reit Units Trust (CRT.UN) accounts for about 0.62% of total assets, followed by Tokyu Reit Inc and Bank Of Ireland Group Plc (BIRG).
ISCF's top 10 holdings account for about 5.09% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added about 8.05% and it's up approximately 11.38% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 07/21/2023), respectively. ISCF has traded between $25.80 and $32.33 during this last 52-week period.
ISCF has a beta of 0.95 and standard deviation of 17.36% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 1045 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
IShares International Small is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the World ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS - Free Report) tracks FTSE Global All Cap ex US Index and the Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF (VEA - Free Report) tracks FTSE Developed All Cap ex US Index. Vanguard Total International Stock ETF has $58.51 billion in assets, Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF has $116.38 billion. VXUS has an expense ratio of 0.07% and VEA charges 0.05%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the World ETFs.
Bottom Line
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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Is iShares International Small (ISCF) a Strong ETF Right Now?
A smart beta exchange traded fund, the iShares International Small (ISCF - Free Report) debuted on 04/28/2015, and offers broad exposure to the World ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.
A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.
If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.
By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Blackrock, and has been able to amass over $615.28 million, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the World ETFs. ISCF seeks to match the performance of the MSCI World exUSA Small Cap Diversified Multiple-Factor Index before fees and expenses.
The MSCI World exUSA Small Cap Diversified Multiple-Factor Index is designed to select equity securities from MSCI World ex USA Small Cap Index that have high exposure to four investment style factors: value, quality, momentum and low size.
Cost & Other Expenses
Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.23% for ISCF, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.68%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Most ETFs are very transparent products, and disclose their holdings on a daily basis. ETFs also offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, though it's still important for investors to research a fund's holdings.
Looking at individual holdings, Ct Reit Units Trust (CRT.UN) accounts for about 0.62% of total assets, followed by Tokyu Reit Inc and Bank Of Ireland Group Plc (BIRG).
ISCF's top 10 holdings account for about 5.09% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added about 8.05% and it's up approximately 11.38% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 07/21/2023), respectively. ISCF has traded between $25.80 and $32.33 during this last 52-week period.
ISCF has a beta of 0.95 and standard deviation of 17.36% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 1045 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
IShares International Small is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the World ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS - Free Report) tracks FTSE Global All Cap ex US Index and the Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF (VEA - Free Report) tracks FTSE Developed All Cap ex US Index. Vanguard Total International Stock ETF has $58.51 billion in assets, Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF has $116.38 billion. VXUS has an expense ratio of 0.07% and VEA charges 0.05%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the World ETFs.
Bottom Line
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.