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Should SPDR S&P 600 Small Cap Value ETF (SLYV) 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 SPDR S&P 600 Small Cap Value ETF (SLYV - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 09/25/2000.

The fund is sponsored by State Street Global Advisors. It has amassed assets over $4.32 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Value segment of the US equity market.

Why Small Cap Value

Small cap companies have market capitalization below $2 billion. They usually have higher potential than large and mid cap companies with stocks but higher risk.

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. Looking at their long-term performance, value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in almost all markets. They are however likely to underperform growth 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 0.15%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.07%.

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 Financials sector--about 27.90% of the portfolio. Industrials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Comerica Inc (CMA - Free Report) accounts for about 1.21% of total assets, followed by Lumen Technologies Inc (LUMN - Free Report) and Jackson Financial Inc A (JXN - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 9.75% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

SLYV seeks to match the performance of the S&P SmallCap 600 Value Index before fees and expenses. The S&P SmallCap 600 Value Index measures the performance of the small-capitalization value sector in the U.S. equity market. The selection universe for the S&P SmallCap 600 Index includes all U.S. common equities listed on the NYSE, NASDAQ Global Select Market, NASDAQ Select Market and NASDAQ Capital Market with market capitalizations between $250 million and $1.2 billion.

The ETF has gained about 14.95% so far this year and is up about 30.56% in the last one year (as of 12/02/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $76.01 and $95.14.

The ETF has a beta of 1.15 and standard deviation of 22.10% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 462 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

SPDR S&P 600 Small Cap Value 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, SLYV is an excellent option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Value segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The Avantis U.S. Small Cap Value ETF (AVUV - Free Report) and the Vanguard Small-Cap Value ETF (VBR - Free Report) track a similar index. While Avantis U.S. Small Cap Value ETF has $16.03 billion in assets, Vanguard Small-Cap Value ETF has $33.16 billion. AVUV has an expense ratio of 0.25% and VBR 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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