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Should Pacer US Small Cap Cash Cows 100 ETF (CALF) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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If you're interested in broad exposure to the Small Cap Value segment of the US equity market, look no further than the Pacer US Small Cap Cash Cows 100 ETF (CALF - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 06/16/2017.

The fund is sponsored by Pacer Etfs. It has amassed assets over $8.77 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Value segment of the US equity market.

Why Small Cap Value

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 value stocks have lower than average price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios, they also have lower than average sales and earnings growth rates. Value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in nearly all markets when you consider long-term performance, growth stocks are more likely to outpace value stocks in strong bull markets.

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 0.59%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.92%.

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 Consumer Discretionary sector--about 37.70% of the portfolio. Industrials and Information Technology round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Abercrombie & Fitch Co (ANF - Free Report) accounts for about 2.43% of total assets, followed by Mdc Holdings Inc (MDC) and Alpha Metallurgical Resources Inc (AMR - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 21.97% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

CALF seeks to match the performance of the Pacer US Small Cap Cash Cows Index before fees and expenses. The Pacer US Small Cap Cash Cows Index uses an objective, rules-based methodology to provide exposure to small-capitalization U.S. companies with high free cash flow yields.

The ETF has lost about -9.57% so far this year and it's up approximately 12.32% in the last one year (as of 06/27/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $39.26 and $49.16.

The ETF has a beta of 1.21 and standard deviation of 24.43% for the trailing three-year period. With about 101 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Pacer US Small Cap Cash Cows 100 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, CALF is a sufficient option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Value area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF (IWN - Free Report) and the Vanguard Small-Cap Value ETF (VBR - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF has $11.18 billion in assets, Vanguard Small-Cap Value ETF has $27.59 billion. IWN has an expense ratio of 0.24% and VBR charges 0.07%.

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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