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Should iShares US SmallCap Equity Fac (SMLF) 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 iShares US SmallCap Equity Fac (SMLF - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 04/28/2015.
The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $776.05 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.
Why Small Cap Blend
Sitting at a market capitalization below $2 billion, small cap companies tend to be high-potential stocks compared to its large and mid cap counterparts, but come with 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 0.15%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.51%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Industrials sector--about 18.50% of the portfolio. Information Technology and Financials round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Fair Isaac Corp (FICO - Free Report) accounts for about 0.72% of total assets, followed by First Industrial Realty Trust Inc (FR - Free Report) and Builders Firstsource Inc (BLDR - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 5.94% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
SMLF seeks to match the performance of the MSCI USA Small Cap Diversified Multiple-Factor Index before fees and expenses. The MSCI USA Small Cap Diversified Multiple-Factor Index is designed to select equity securities from MSCI USA Small Cap Index that have high exposure to four investment style factors: value, quality, momentum and low size.
The ETF has gained about 9.72% so far this year and is up roughly 13.30% in the last one year (as of 09/07/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $44.10 and $56.62.
The ETF has a beta of 1.11 and standard deviation of 21.91% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 883 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
IShares US SmallCap Equity Fac carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, SMLF is a good 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 Small-Cap ETF (IJR - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 2000 ETF has $53.78 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF has $69.27 billion. IWM has an expense ratio of 0.19% and IJR charges 0.06%.
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.
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Should iShares US SmallCap Equity Fac (SMLF) Be on Your Investing Radar?
Designed to provide broad exposure to the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market, the iShares US SmallCap Equity Fac (SMLF - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 04/28/2015.
The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $776.05 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.
Why Small Cap Blend
Sitting at a market capitalization below $2 billion, small cap companies tend to be high-potential stocks compared to its large and mid cap counterparts, but come with 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 0.15%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.51%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Industrials sector--about 18.50% of the portfolio. Information Technology and Financials round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Fair Isaac Corp (FICO - Free Report) accounts for about 0.72% of total assets, followed by First Industrial Realty Trust Inc (FR - Free Report) and Builders Firstsource Inc (BLDR - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 5.94% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
SMLF seeks to match the performance of the MSCI USA Small Cap Diversified Multiple-Factor Index before fees and expenses. The MSCI USA Small Cap Diversified Multiple-Factor Index is designed to select equity securities from MSCI USA Small Cap Index that have high exposure to four investment style factors: value, quality, momentum and low size.
The ETF has gained about 9.72% so far this year and is up roughly 13.30% in the last one year (as of 09/07/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $44.10 and $56.62.
The ETF has a beta of 1.11 and standard deviation of 21.91% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 883 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
IShares US SmallCap Equity Fac carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, SMLF is a good 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 Small-Cap ETF (IJR - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 2000 ETF has $53.78 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF has $69.27 billion. IWM has an expense ratio of 0.19% and IJR charges 0.06%.
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.