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

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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Small Cap Value segment of the US equity market, the SPDR S&P 600 Small Cap Value ETF (SLYV - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 09/25/2000.

The fund is sponsored by State Street Global Advisors. It has amassed assets over $4.11 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Value segment of the US equity market.

Why Small Cap Value

There's a lot of potential to investing in small cap companies, but with market capitalization below $2 billion, that high potential comes with even higher risk.

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. While 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

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.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.15%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.39%.

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 Financials sector--about 25.30% 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 1.05% of total assets, followed by Macy's Inc (M - Free Report) and Pdc Energy Inc. .

The top 10 holdings account for about 7.73% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

SLYV seeks to match the performance of the S&P SmallCap 600 Value Index before fees and expenses. The S&P SmallCap 600 Value Index measures the performance of the small-capitalization value sector in the U.S. equity market. The selection universe for the S&P SmallCap 600 Index includes all U.S. common equities listed on the NYSE, NASDAQ Global Select Market, NASDAQ Select Market and NASDAQ Capital Market with market capitalizations between $250 million and $1.2 billion.

The ETF has gained about 32.06% so far this year and was up about 56.94% in the last one year (as of 10/25/2021). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $51.63 and $89.85.

The ETF has a beta of 1.29 and standard deviation of 31.60% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 477 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

SPDR S&P 600 Small Cap Value 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, SLYV is an excellent option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Value segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF (IWN - Free Report) and the Vanguard SmallCap Value ETF (VBR - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF has $16.17 billion in assets, Vanguard SmallCap Value ETF has $26.02 billion. IWN has an expense ratio of 0.24% and VBR charges 0.07%.

Bottom-Line

Retail and institutional investors increasingly turn to passively managed ETFs because they offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; these kind of funds 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.

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