We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Should iShares US SmallCap Equity Fac (SMLF) Be on Your Investing Radar?
Read MoreHide Full Article
Launched on 04/28/2015, the iShares US SmallCap Equity Fac (SMLF - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.
The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $720.86 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
With more potential comes more risk, and small cap companies, with market capitalization below $2 billion, epitomizes this way of thinking.
Blend ETFs usually hold a mix of growth and value stocks as well as stocks that exhibit both value and growth characteristics.
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 1.68%.
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 Industrials sector--about 18.40% of the portfolio. Financials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Jabil Inc (JBL - Free Report) accounts for about 0.77% 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 5.86% 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 2.80% so far this year and was up about 1.80% in the last one year (as of 11/08/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $47.85 and $56.62.
The ETF has a beta of 1.11 and standard deviation of 21.75% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 863 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 $50.55 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF has $65.07 billion. IWM has an expense ratio of 0.19% and IJR charges 0.06%.
Bottom-Line
While an excellent vehicle for long term investors, passively managed ETFs are a popular choice among institutional and retail investors due to their low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency.
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.
See More Zacks Research for These Tickers
Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:
Image: Bigstock
Should iShares US SmallCap Equity Fac (SMLF) Be on Your Investing Radar?
Launched on 04/28/2015, the iShares US SmallCap Equity Fac (SMLF - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.
The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $720.86 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
With more potential comes more risk, and small cap companies, with market capitalization below $2 billion, epitomizes this way of thinking.
Blend ETFs usually hold a mix of growth and value stocks as well as stocks that exhibit both value and growth characteristics.
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 1.68%.
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 Industrials sector--about 18.40% of the portfolio. Financials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Jabil Inc (JBL - Free Report) accounts for about 0.77% 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 5.86% 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 2.80% so far this year and was up about 1.80% in the last one year (as of 11/08/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $47.85 and $56.62.
The ETF has a beta of 1.11 and standard deviation of 21.75% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 863 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 $50.55 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF has $65.07 billion. IWM has an expense ratio of 0.19% and IJR charges 0.06%.
Bottom-Line
While an excellent vehicle for long term investors, passively managed ETFs are a popular choice among institutional and retail investors due to their low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency.
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.