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

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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market, the SPDR S&P 600 Small Cap ETF is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 11/08/2005.

The fund is sponsored by State Street Global Advisors. It has amassed assets over $1.53 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

Why Small Cap Blend

With more potential comes more risk, and small cap companies, with market capitalization below $2 billion, epitomizes this way of thinking.

Blend ETFs are aptly named, since they tend to hold a mix of growth and value stocks, as well as show characteristics of both kinds of equities.

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 0.15%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.82%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Financials sector--about 19% of the portfolio. Industrials and Information Technology round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Exlservice Holdings Inc. (EXLS - Free Report) accounts for about 0.63% of total assets, followed by Agree Realty Corporation (ADC - Free Report) and Lantheus Holdings Inc (LNTH - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 5.66% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

SLY seeks to match the performance of the S&P SmallCap 600 Index before fees and expenses. The S&P SmallCap 600 Index measures the performance of the small-capitalization sector in the US equity market.

The ETF has lost about -21.81% so far this year and is down about -18.03% in the last one year (as of 10/04/2022). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $75.61 and $104.37.

The ETF has a beta of 1.13 and standard deviation of 30.72% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 603 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

SPDR S&P 600 Small Cap ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, SLY is a sufficient option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Blend area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM - Free Report) and the iShares Core S&P SmallCap ETF (IJR - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 2000 ETF has $49.33 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P SmallCap ETF has $60.60 billion. IWM has an expense ratio of 0.19% and IJR charges 0.06%.

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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