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Is iShares U.S. Small-Cap Equity Factor ETF (SMLF) 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 iShares U.S. Small-Cap Equity Factor ETF (SMLF - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 04/28/2015.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.
Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.
There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.
Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.
Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Blackrock, and has been able to amass over $2.01 billion, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Small Cap Blend. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the MSCI USA Small Cap Diversified Multiple-Factor Index before fees and expenses.
The STOXX U.S. Small-Cap Equity Factor Index (USD) composed of U.S. small-capitalization stocks that have favourable exposure to target style factors subject to constraints.
Cost & Other Expenses
When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor. And, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins in the long term if all other factors remain equal.
With one of the cheaper products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.15%.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.32%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
ETFs offer 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 in the Industrials sector - about 18.9% of the portfolio. Financials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
When you look at individual holdings, Emcor Group Inc (EME) accounts for about 1.04% of the fund's total assets, followed by Carvana Class A (CVNA) and Jabil Inc (JBL).
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the iShares U.S. Small-Cap Equity Factor ETF return is roughly 5.84% so far, and is up roughly 13.29% over the last 12 months (as of 08/19/2025). SMLF has traded between $54.28 $74.15 in this past 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 1.07 and standard deviation of 20.90% for the trailing three-year period, which makes SMLF a high risk choice in this particular space. With about 861 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
iShares U.S. Small-Cap Equity Factor 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.
Vanguard Small-Cap ETF (VB) tracks CRSP US Small Cap Index and the iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR) tracks S&P SmallCap 600 Index. Vanguard Small-Cap ETF has $64.84 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF has $82.91 billion. VB has an expense ratio of 0.05% and IJR changes 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 iShares U.S. Small-Cap Equity Factor ETF (SMLF) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Designed to provide broad exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Blend category of the market, the iShares U.S. Small-Cap Equity Factor ETF (SMLF - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 04/28/2015.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.
Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.
There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.
Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.
Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Blackrock, and has been able to amass over $2.01 billion, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Small Cap Blend. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the MSCI USA Small Cap Diversified Multiple-Factor Index before fees and expenses.
The STOXX U.S. Small-Cap Equity Factor Index (USD) composed of U.S. small-capitalization stocks that have favourable exposure to target style factors subject to constraints.
Cost & Other Expenses
When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor. And, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins in the long term if all other factors remain equal.
With one of the cheaper products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.15%.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.32%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
ETFs offer 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 in the Industrials sector - about 18.9% of the portfolio. Financials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
When you look at individual holdings, Emcor Group Inc (EME) accounts for about 1.04% of the fund's total assets, followed by Carvana Class A (CVNA) and Jabil Inc (JBL).
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the iShares U.S. Small-Cap Equity Factor ETF return is roughly 5.84% so far, and is up roughly 13.29% over the last 12 months (as of 08/19/2025). SMLF has traded between $54.28 $74.15 in this past 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 1.07 and standard deviation of 20.90% for the trailing three-year period, which makes SMLF a high risk choice in this particular space. With about 861 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
iShares U.S. Small-Cap Equity Factor 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.
Vanguard Small-Cap ETF (VB) tracks CRSP US Small Cap Index and the iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR) tracks S&P SmallCap 600 Index. Vanguard Small-Cap ETF has $64.84 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF has $82.91 billion. VB has an expense ratio of 0.05% and IJR changes 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.