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

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The SPDR Portfolio S&P 600 Small Cap ETF (SPSM - Free Report) was launched on 07/08/2013, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by State Street Global Advisors. It has amassed assets over $5.19 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

Why Small Cap Blend

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.

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

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 0.05%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.27%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

ETFs offer a diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Financials sector--about 17.90% of the portfolio. Industrials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Agree Realty Corporation (ADC - Free Report) accounts for about 0.64% of total assets, followed by Exponent Inc. (EXPO - Free Report) and Amn Healthcare Services Inc. (AMN - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 2.89% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

SPSM seeks to match the performance of the Russell 2000 Index before fees and expenses. The S&P SmallCap 600 Index is designed to measure the performance of the small-capitalization segment of the U.S. equity market.

The ETF has gained about 8.25% so far this year and is down about -3.09% in the last one year (as of 02/28/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $33.99 and $43.33.

The ETF has a beta of 1.15 and standard deviation of 31.61% for the trailing three-year period. With about 611 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

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

The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM - Free Report) and the iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 2000 ETF has $54.94 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF has $70.93 billion. IWM has an expense ratio of 0.19% and IJR charges 0.06%.

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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