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Should WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap Earnings Fund (EES) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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Looking for broad exposure to the Small Cap Value segment of the US equity market? You should consider the WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap Earnings Fund (EES - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 02/23/2007.

The fund is sponsored by Wisdomtree. It has amassed assets over $701.88 M, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Value segment of the US equity market.

Why Small Cap Value

Small cap companies have market capitalization below $2 billion. They usually have higher potential than large and mid cap companies with stocks but higher risk.

While value stocks have lower than average price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios, they also have lower than average sales and earnings growth rates. Value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in nearly all markets when you consider long-term performance, growth stocks are more likely to outpace value stocks in strong bull markets.

Costs

Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.38%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.62%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Consumer Discretionary sector--about 24.20% of the portfolio. Financials and Industrials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, American Axle & Manufacturing (AXL - Free Report) accounts for about 1.02% of total assets, followed by Gulfport Energy Corp (GPOR - Free Report) and Dana Inc (DAN - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 8.51% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

EES seeks to match the performance of the WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap Earnings Index before fees and expenses. The WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap Earnings Index is a fundamentally weighted index that measures the performance of earnings-generating companies within the small-capitalization segment of the U.S. Stock Market.

The ETF return is roughly 11.77% so far this year and is down about -3.20% in the last one year (as of 01/28/2019). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $30.28 and $40.77.

The ETF has a beta of 1.12 and standard deviation of 16.33% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 866 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap Earnings Fund carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, EES is a reasonable option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Value area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF (IWN - Free Report) and the Vanguard Small-Cap Value ETF (VBR - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF has $9.23 B in assets, Vanguard Small-Cap Value ETF has $12.67 B. IWN has an expense ratio of 0.24% and VBR charges 0.07%.

Bottom-Line

Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are excellent vehicles for long term investors.

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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