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Should Invesco S&P SmallCap Momentum ETF (XSMO) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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If you're interested in broad exposure to the Small Cap Growth segment of the US equity market, look no further than the Invesco S&P SmallCap Momentum ETF (XSMO - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 03/03/2005.

The fund is sponsored by Invesco. It has amassed assets over $201.37 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

Why Small Cap Growth

There's a lot of potential to investing in small cap companies, but with market capitalization below $2 billion, that high potential comes with even higher risk.

While growth stocks do boast higher than average sales and earnings growth rates, and they are expected to grow faster than the wider market, investors should note these kinds of stocks have higher valuations. Further, growth stocks have a higher level of volatility associated with them. Compared to value stocks, growth stocks are a safer bet in a strong bull market, but don't perform as strongly in almost all other financial environments.

Costs

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts if all other fundamentals are the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.39%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.20%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Industrials sector--about 23.30% of the portfolio. Information Technology and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Rambus Inc (RMBS - Free Report) accounts for about 3.82% of total assets, followed by Elf Beauty Inc (ELF - Free Report) and Axcelis Technologies Inc (ACLS - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 26.06% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

XSMO seeks to match the performance of the S&P SMALLCAP 600 MOMENTUM INDEX before fees and expenses. The S&P Smallcap 600 Momentum Index is composed of securities with strong growth characteristics selected from the Russell 2000 Index.

The ETF return is roughly 12.78% so far this year and is up about 11.08% in the last one year (as of 12/12/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $43.62 and $52.72.

The ETF has a beta of 1.06 and standard deviation of 24.66% for the trailing three-year period. With about 117 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Invesco S&P SmallCap Momentum 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, XSMO is an outstanding option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF (IWO - Free Report) and the Vanguard Small-Cap Growth ETF (VBK - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF has $10.01 billion in assets, Vanguard Small-Cap Growth ETF has $14.35 billion. IWO has an expense ratio of 0.24% and VBK charges 0.07%.

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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