Back to top

Image: Bigstock

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

Read MoreHide Full Article

If you're interested in broad exposure to the Small Cap Value segment of the US equity market, look no further than 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 $737.24 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.

Value stocks are known for their lower than average price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios, but investors should also note their lower than average sales and earnings growth rates. Considering long-term performance, value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in almost all markets; however, they are more likely to underperform growth stocks in strong bull markets.

Costs

Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts, other things remaining 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 1.57%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, 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 23.40% of the portfolio. Financials and Industrials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, American Axle & Manufacturing (AXL - Free Report) accounts for about 1.07% of total assets, followed by Dana Inc (DAN - Free Report) and Bed Bath & Beyond Inc .

The top 10 holdings account for about 8.59% 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 has added roughly 14.76% so far this year and is up about 0.64% in the last one year (as of 03/14/2019). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $30.28 and $40.77.

The ETF has a beta of 1.17 and standard deviation of 15.78% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 863 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap Earnings Fund sports a Zacks ETF Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. EES, then, is not a suitable option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Value segment of the market. Instead, there are better ETFs in the space to consider.

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 $9.27 B in assets, Vanguard Small-Cap Value ETF has $13.21 B. IWN has an expense ratio of 0.24% and VBR charges 0.07%.

Bottom-Line

An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they are also 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.

Published in