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

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Looking for broad exposure to the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market? You should consider the SPDR Portfolio S&P 600 Small Cap ETF (SPSM - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 07/08/2013.

The fund is sponsored by State Street Global Advisors. It has amassed assets over $10.32 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

With more potential comes more risk, and small cap companies, with market capitalization below $2 billion, epitomizes this way of thinking.

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

Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.03%, making it the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.64%.

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 Industrials sector--about 18.30% of the portfolio. Financials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Fabrinet (FN - Free Report) accounts for about 0.60% of total assets, followed by Ensign Group Inc/the (ENSG - Free Report) and Sps Commerce Inc (SPSC - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 5.44% 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 lost about -0.08% so far this year and was up about 15.63% in the last one year (as of 05/24/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $34.30 and $43.15.

The ETF has a beta of 1.13 and standard deviation of 21.56% for the trailing three-year period. With about 610 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

SPDR Portfolio S&P 600 Small Cap ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, SPSM is a reasonable 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 $60 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF has $78.14 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.

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