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Is IQ Chaikin U.S. Small Cap ETF (CSML) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Blend category of the market, the IQ Chaikin U.S. Small Cap ETF is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 05/16/2017.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
But, there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds; these funds track non-cap weighted strategies, and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market.
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 sponsored by New York Life Investments. It has amassed assets over $218.89 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Small Cap Blend. CSML seeks to match the performance of the NASDAQ Chaikin Power US Small Cap Index before fees and expenses.
The NASDAQ Chaikin Power US Small Cap Index is a rules-based, quantitative index designed to enhance the NASDAQ US 1500 Index, by selecting stocks with the highest Chaikin Power Gauge rating.
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.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.35%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.40%.
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.
For CSML, it has heaviest allocation in the Financials sector --about 27.70% of the portfolio --while Industrials and Information Technology round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Dillards Inc-Cl A (DDS - Free Report) accounts for about 0.47% of total assets, followed by Idt Corp-Class B (IDT - Free Report) and A-Mark Precious Metals In (AMRK - Free Report) .
CSML's top 10 holdings account for about 3.89% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added roughly 0% and was up about 28.90% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 01/04/2022), respectively. CSML has traded between $29.39 and $38.36 during this last 52-week period.
CSML has a beta of 1.31 and standard deviation of 30.74% for the trailing three-year period. With about 488 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
IQ Chaikin U.S. Small Cap ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Small Cap Blend segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
IShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM - Free Report) tracks Russell 2000 Index and the iShares Core S&P SmallCap ETF (IJR - Free Report) tracks S&P SmallCap 600 Index. IShares Russell 2000 ETF has $69.95 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P SmallCap ETF has $76.38 billion. IWM has an expense ratio of 0.19% and IJR charges 0.06%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - Small Cap Blend.
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 IQ Chaikin U.S. Small Cap ETF (CSML) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Designed to provide broad exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Blend category of the market, the IQ Chaikin U.S. Small Cap ETF is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 05/16/2017.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
But, there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds; these funds track non-cap weighted strategies, and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market.
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 sponsored by New York Life Investments. It has amassed assets over $218.89 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Small Cap Blend. CSML seeks to match the performance of the NASDAQ Chaikin Power US Small Cap Index before fees and expenses.
The NASDAQ Chaikin Power US Small Cap Index is a rules-based, quantitative index designed to enhance the NASDAQ US 1500 Index, by selecting stocks with the highest Chaikin Power Gauge rating.
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.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.35%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.40%.
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.
For CSML, it has heaviest allocation in the Financials sector --about 27.70% of the portfolio --while Industrials and Information Technology round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Dillards Inc-Cl A (DDS - Free Report) accounts for about 0.47% of total assets, followed by Idt Corp-Class B (IDT - Free Report) and A-Mark Precious Metals In (AMRK - Free Report) .
CSML's top 10 holdings account for about 3.89% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added roughly 0% and was up about 28.90% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 01/04/2022), respectively. CSML has traded between $29.39 and $38.36 during this last 52-week period.
CSML has a beta of 1.31 and standard deviation of 30.74% for the trailing three-year period. With about 488 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
IQ Chaikin U.S. Small Cap ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Small Cap Blend segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
IShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM - Free Report) tracks Russell 2000 Index and the iShares Core S&P SmallCap ETF (IJR - Free Report) tracks S&P SmallCap 600 Index. IShares Russell 2000 ETF has $69.95 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P SmallCap ETF has $76.38 billion. IWM has an expense ratio of 0.19% and IJR charges 0.06%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - Small Cap Blend.
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.