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

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The SPDR Portfolio S&P 600 Small Cap ETF (SPSM - Free Report) was launched on 07/08/2013, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by State Street Global Advisors. It has amassed assets over $13.37 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

Sitting at a market capitalization below $2 billion, small cap companies tend to be high-potential stocks compared to its large and mid cap counterparts, but come with higher risk.

Blend ETFs usually hold a mix of growth and value stocks as well as stocks that exhibit both value and growth characteristics.

Costs

Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts, other things remaining the same.

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 1.72%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Financials sector--about 19.70% of the portfolio. Industrials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Mueller Industries Inc (MLI - Free Report) accounts for about 0.70% of total assets, followed by Comerica Inc (CMA - Free Report) and Carpenter Technology (CRS - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 5.63% 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 added roughly 17.80% so far this year and it's up approximately 27.42% in the last one year (as of 12/05/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $38.58 and $49.55.

The ETF has a beta of 1.13 and standard deviation of 21.80% for the trailing three-year period. With about 611 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

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

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 $81.28 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF has $94.69 billion. IWM has an expense ratio of 0.19% and IJR charges 0.06%.

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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