Small Cap and Small Size ETFs
A small cap stock is generally defined as the stock of publicly traded company that has a market capitalization ranging from $300 million to about $2 billion. ETFs that invest in small cap stocks have been around a long time, and most people wouldn't necessarily consider a small cap ETF to be a "smart beta" ETF. But since "size" is perhaps the most well established factor that can lead to a stock outperforming the market, we have included this article about small cap ETFs in our "smart beta" series of articles. But many of the small cap ETFs that exist have been around a long time and are based on plain vanilla indexes that weight their holdings using market capitalization.
There are also a lot of smart beta large and mid cap stock indexes that intentionally select "smaller" size companies from the list of large and mid cap stocks included in the parent universe of stocks. We call these "small size factor" indexes, or small size ETPs.
There are a large number of small cap or small size factor ETPs, as shown in this table:
| Name | Symbol | Last price | Currency |
|---|---|---|---|
| iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Sm Cap | ARCX:EEMS | 58.51 | USD |
| AlphaMark Small Cap Growth ETF | XNAS:SMCP | 32.67 | USD |
| VictoryShares Small Cap Free Cash Flow ETF | XNAS:SFLO | 26.22 | USD |
| SPDR S&P International SmallCap ETF | ARCX:GWX | 31.19 | USD |
| Goldman Sachs ETF Trust Goldman Sachs Small Cap Core Equity ETF | ARCX:GSC | 51.75 | USD |
| Hartford Multifactor Global Small Cap ET | ARCX:ROSC | 44.09 | USD |
| American Century ETF Trust Avantis Emerging Markets Small Cap Equity ETF | ARCX:AVEE | 53.96 | USD |
| Fidelity Covington Trust Fidelity Enhanced Small Cap ETF | ARCX:FESM | 32.64 | USD |
| Deutsche X-trackers Harvest CSI 500 China A Shares Small Cap | ARCX:ASHS | 28.93 | USD |
| WisdomTree Emerging Mkt SmllCap Dvd Fnd | ARCX:DGS | 49.85 | USD |
| INVESCO S&P SMALLCAP LOW VOL | ARCX:XSLV | 47.82 | USD |
| ProShares Short Russell2000 | ARCX:RWM | 18.86 | USD |
| ALPS O'Shares U.S. Small-Cap Quality Dividend ETF | BATS:OUSM | 43.97 | USD |
| JPMorgan Fundamental Data Science Small Core ETF | XNAS:SCDS | 55.26 | USD |
| Opus Small Cap Value Plus | BATS:OSCV | 37.20 | USD |
| Oppenheimer Russell 2000 Dynamic Multifactor | XNYS:OMFS | 40.21 | USD |
| AVANTIS INTL S/C VALUE ETF | ARCX:AVDV | 63.96 | USD |
| ETRACS 2x Leveraged US Size Factor TR ETN | ARCX:IWML | 21.89 | USD |
| ProShares UltraShort Russell2000 | ARCX:TWM | 44.58 | USD |
| First Trust Small Cap Core AlphaDEX Fund | XNAS:FYX | 101.39 | USD |
| Dimensional ETF Trust Dimensional International Small Cap ETF | BATS:DFIS | 24.33 | USD |
| Spdr S&P600 Scg | ARCX:SLYG | 91.48 | USD |
| JPMorgan Diversified Return US Small Cap Equity | ARCX:JPSE | 47.26 | USD |
| Pacer US Small Cap Cash Cows Growth Leaders ETF | XNAS:CAFG | 25.79 | USD |
| Syntax Stratified SmallCap ETF | ARCX:SSLY | 45.95 | USD |
| Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF | ARCX:SCHA | 26.00 | USD |
| iShares Edge MSCI Intl Size Factor ETF | ARCX:ISCF | 31.99 | USD |
| Oppenheimer S&P SmallCap 600 Revenue ETF | XNYS:RWJ | 45.68 | USD |
| WisdomTree US SmallCap Earnings Fund | ARCX:EES | 53.90 | USD |
| Vanguard S&P Small-Cap 600 Value ETF | ARCX:VIOV | 93.94 | USD |
| iShares Morningstar Small-Cap ETF | ARCX:ISCB | 58.92 | USD |
| iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF | ARCX:IWN | 164.11 | USD |
| iShares Trust iShares Russell 2000 BuyWrite ETF | BATS:IWMW | 43.88 | USD |
| iShares Trust iShares International Developed Small Cap Value Factor ETF | BATS:ISVL | 33.93 | USD |
| Calamos ETF Trust Calamos Russell 2000 Structured Alt Protection ETF July | ARCX:CPRJ | 25.46 | USD |
| First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII FT Vest Laddered Small Cap Moderate Buffer ETF | BATS:BUFS | 21.35 | USD |
| WisdomTree U S | XNAS:DGRS | 51.35 | USD |
| INVESCO S&P SMALLCAP VALUE W | ARCX:XSVM | 54.76 | USD |
| Nuveen Small Cap Select ETF | ARCX:NSCS | 28.47 | USD |
| Invesco S&P SmallCap 600 QVM Multi-factor ETF | ARCX:QVMS | 27.63 | USD |
| iShares MSCI India Small-Cap | BATS:SMIN | 77.26 | USD |
| iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol USA Small-Cap | BATS:SMMV | 41.62 | USD |
| Vanguard S&P Small-Cap 600 ETF | ARCX:VIOO | 108.27 | USD |
| Spdr S&P600 Scv | ARCX:SLYV | 88.07 | USD |
| Dimensional ETF Trust Dimensional International Small Cap Value ETF | BATS:DISV | 26.29 | USD |
| iShares MSCI Brazil Small-Cap ETF | XNAS:EWZS | 9.76 | USD |
| iShares Russell 2000 ETF | ARCX:IWM | 222.59 | USD |
| LEGG MASON SMALL-CAP QUALITY | XNAS:SQLV | 42.54 | USD |
| NEOS ETF Trust NEOS Russell 2000 High Income ETF | BATS:IWMI | 49.61 | USD |
| Innovator U.S. Small Cap Power Buffer ETF - April | BATS:KAPR | 32.79 | USD |
| VictoryShares US Small Cap Volatility Wt | XNAS:CSA | 73.78 | USD |
| Robinson Alternative Yield Pre-merger SPAC ETF | ARCX:SPAX | 20.56 | USD |
| iShares Edge MSCI Multifactor USA Small- | ARCX:SMLF | 68.24 | USD |
| ProShares Russell 2000 Div Growers ETF | BATS:SMDV | 68.86 | USD |
| iShares Morningstar Small-Cap Value ETF | ARCX:ISCV | 63.15 | USD |
| SHL Telemedicine Ltd Innovator U.S. Small Cap Power Buffer ETF - June | BATS:KJUN | 26.97 | USD |
| First Trust Multi-Manager Small Cap Opportunities ETF | ARCX:MMSC | 21.09 | USD |
| Lattice Strategies Trust Hartford Multifactor International Small Company ETF | BATS:ROIS | 49.25 | USD |
| Federated Hermes ETF Trust Federated Hermes MDT Small Cap Core ETF | ARCX:FSCC | 26.35 | USD |
| Harbor ETF Trust Harbor Corporate Culture Small Cap ETF | ARCX:HAPS | 29.34 | USD |
| iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF | ARCX:IJR | 115.83 | USD |
| iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF | ARCX:IWO | 291.14 | USD |
| First Trust Small Cap US Equity Select ETF | XNAS:RNSC | 32.31 | USD |
| EA Bridgeway Omni Small-Cap Value ETF | XNAS:BSVO | 21.51 | USD |
| ETF Series Solutions AAM Sawgrass US Small Cap Quality Growth ETF | ARCX:SAWS | 19.79 | USD |
| First Trust Developed Markets ex-US Small Cap AlphaDEX | XNAS:FDTS | 39.95 | USD |
| PowerShares S&P SmallCap High Dividend Low Volatility Portfolio | XNYS:XSHD | 14.65 | USD |
| AVANTIS US SMALL CAP VALUE | ARCX:AVUV | 96.19 | USD |
| SPDR S&P Emerging Markets Small Cap ETF | ARCX:EWX | 60.75 | USD |
| Dimensional ETF Trust Dimensional US Small Cap Value ETF | ARCX:DFSV | 30.56 | USD |
| SPDR SSGA US Small Cap Low Volatility In | ARCX:SMLV | 128.58 | USD |
| Direxion Small Cap Bull 3X Shares | ARCX:TNA | 43.17 | USD |
| INVESCO S&P SMALLCAP MOMENTU | ARCX:XSMO | 66.56 | USD |
| Tidal Trust II Defiance R2000 Enhanced Options Income ETF | ARCX:IWMY | 30.37 | USD |
| iShares Hedged EAFE Small Cap ETF | ARCX:HSCZ | 31.47 | USD |
| GLOBAL X RUSSELL 2000 COV CL | ARCX:RYLD | 16.42 | USD |
| WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap Quality Growth Fund | XNAS:QSML | 27.62 | USD |
| VanEck Vect Brazil Small-Cap ETF | ARCX:BRF | 11.84 | USD |
| PACER US SMALL CAP CASH COWS | BATS:CALF | 44.35 | USD |
| iShares US Small Cap Value Factor ETF | BATS:SVAL | 32.45 | USD |
| TIMOTHY PLAN US SMALL CAP CO | ARCX:TPSC | 39.28 | USD |
| Vanguard S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth ETF | ARCX:VIOG | 117.91 | USD |
| American Century ETF Trust Avantis U.S Small Cap Equity ETF | ARCX:AVSC | 54.46 | USD |
| Victory CEMP US Small Cap High Dividend Volatility Weighted | XNAS:CSB | 59.35 | USD |
| Global X Funds Global X Russell 2000 ETF | ARCX:RSSL | 87.16 | USD |
| WisdomTree Dynamic Currency Hedged Intl | BATS:DDLS | 34.64 | USD |
| PRINCIPAL US SMALL CAP INDEX | XNAS:PSC | 51.60 | USD |
| iShares S&P SmallCap 600 Value ETF | ARCX:IJS | 108.86 | USD |
| Vanguard Small-Cap Growth | ARCX:VBK | 284.22 | USD |
| PowerShares S&P SmallCap Quality Portfolio | XNYS:XSHQ | 42.92 | USD |
| FIRST TRUST ACTIVE FACTOR SM | ARCX:AFSM | 30.26 | USD |
| ETRACS 2xMonthly Pay Leveraged US Small Cap High Dividend ETN | ARCX:SMHB | 5.25 | USD |
| INVESCO S&P SMALLCAP 600 PUR | ARCX:RZV | 111.90 | USD |
| iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth | XNAS:IJT | 136.90 | USD |
| iShares MSCI USA Small-Cap ESG Optimized | BATS:ESML | 42.30 | USD |
| VictoryShares US Discovery Enhanced Vola | XNAS:CSF | 55.65 | USD |
| First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII FT Cboe Vest U.S. Small Cap Moderate Buffer ETF - November | BATS:SNOV | 23.15 | USD |
| Vanguard Russell 2000 ETF | XNAS:VTWO | 90.24 | USD |
| OVERLAY SHARES SMALL CAP EQ | ARCX:OVS | 35.74 | USD |
| Franklin LibertyQ U.S. Small Cap Equity ETF | BATS:FLQS | 41.77 | USD |
| Harbor ETF Trust Harbor AlphaEdge Small Cap Earners ETF | ARCX:EBIT | 32.19 | USD |
| SHL Telemedicine Ltd Innovator U.S. Small Cap 10 Buffer ETF - Quarterly | BATS:RBUF | 26.56 | USD |
| First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII FT Cboe Vest U.S. Small Cap Moderate Buffer ETF - May | BATS:SMAY | 24.84 | USD |
| iShares MSCI United Kingdom Small-Cap | BATS:EWUS | 34.70 | USD |
| John Hancock Multifactor Small Cap | ARCX:JHSC | 40.04 | USD |
| First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII FT Cboe Vest U.S. Small Cap Moderate Buffer ETF - August | BATS:SAUG | 23.57 | USD |
| GOLDMAN SACHS ACTIVEBETA US | ARCX:GSSC | 69.79 | USD |
| NuShares ESG Small-Cap | BATS:NUSC | 42.15 | USD |
| Schwab Internationl Small-Cap Equity ETF | ARCX:SCHC | 34.09 | USD |
| First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund VIII FT Vest U.S. Small Cap Moderate Buffer ETF - February | BATS:SFEB | 21.57 | USD |
| Global X Funds Global X Russell 2000 Covered Call & Growth ETF | ARCX:RYLG | 26.16 | USD |
| WisdomTree International SmallCap Fund | ARCX:DLS | 63.15 | USD |
| Texas Capital Texas Small Cap Equity Index ETF | XNAS:TXSS | 27.57 | USD |
| SPDR Russell 2000 | ARCX:SPSM | 45.49 | USD |
| Invesco Exchange-Traded Fund Trust II Invesco S&P SmallCap 600 GARP ETF | ARCX:GRPZ | 26.20 | USD |
| iShares MSCI EAFE Small-Cap ETF | XNAS:SCZ | 60.38 | USD |
| ProShares UltraPro Russell2000 | ARCX:URTY | 50.70 | USD |
| WisdomTree US SmallCap Dividend Fund | ARCX:DES | 34.43 | USD |
| Themes US Small Cap Cash Flow Champions ETF | XNAS:SMCF | 30.77 | USD |
| Innovator ETFs Trust Innovator US Small Cap Power Buffer ETF - August | BATS:KAUG | 25.19 | USD |
| MFAM Small-Cap Growth ETF | BATS:TMFS | 35.81 | USD |
| iShares MSCI Japan Sm Cap | ARCX:SCJ | 72.43 | USD |
| ProShares UltraShort SmallCap600 | ARCX:SDD | 15.21 | USD |
| SSGA Active Trust SPDR S&P SmallCap 600 ESG ETF | ARCX:ESIX | 31.92 | USD |
| First Trust Small Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fd | XNAS:FYC | 78.66 | USD |
| Vanguard FTSE All-World Ex-US Small-Cap | ARCX:VSS | 114.00 | USD |
| First Trust Small Cap Value AlphaDEX Fnd | XNAS:FYT | 54.74 | USD |
| iShares MSCI China Small-Cap ETF | ARCX:ECNS | 25.52 | USD |
| First Trust Emerging Markets Small Cap AlphaDEX® Fund | XNAS:FEMS | 38.03 | USD |
| Janus Small Cap Growth Alpha ETF | XNAS:JSML | 66.09 | USD |
| WisdomTree Japan Hedged SmallCap Equity | XNAS:DXJS | 35.06 | USD |
| ProShares Ultra Russell2000 | ARCX:UWM | 42.69 | USD |
| JPMorgan BetaBuilders U.S. Small Cap Equity ETF | ARCX:BBSC | 69.40 | USD |
| ProShares UltraPro Short Russell2000 | ARCX:SRTY | 18.83 | USD |
| ProShares Short SmallCap600 | ARCX:SBB | 14.69 | USD |
| iShares MSCI Europe Small-Cap ETF | XNAS:IEUS | 53.50 | USD |
| INNOVATOR RUSSELL 2000 P BUF | BATS:KJAN | 37.56 | USD |
| WisdomTree Japan SmallCap Fund | ARCX:DFJ | 75.28 | USD |
| Vanguard Russell 2000 Value ETF | XNAS:VTWV | 145.63 | USD |
| Wisdom Tree Trust Europe Small | ARCX:DFE | 56.60 | USD |
| INNOVATOR RUSSELL 2000 POWER | BATS:KOCT | 30.56 | USD |
| BNY Mellon US Small Cap Core Equity ETF | ARCX:BKSE | 101.90 | USD |
| American Century ETF Trust Avantis International Small Cap Equity ETF | ARCX:AVDS | 51.65 | USD |
| Vanguard Russell 2000 Growth ETF | XNAS:VTWG | 212.76 | USD |
| Unified Series Trust OneAscent Small Cap Core ETF | ARCX:OASC | 27.51 | USD |
| ETC 6 Meridian Small Cap Equity ETF | ARCX:SIXS | 49.16 | USD |
| J.P. Morgan Exchange-Traded Fund Trust JPMorgan Active Small Cap Value ETF | ARCX:JPSV | 59.43 | USD |
| Schwab Fndmntl Intl Sml Cmpny Indx | ARCX:FNDC | 34.04 | USD |
| iShares Morningstar Sm Growth | ARCX:ISCG | 50.13 | USD |
| ProShares Ultra SmallCap600 | ARCX:SAA | 26.43 | USD |
| INVESCO DWA SMALLCAP MOMENT | XNAS:DWAS | USD | |
| Innovator U.S. Small Cap Power Buffer ETF - July | BATS:KJUL | 29.38 | USD |
| WisdomTree Europe Hedged SmallCap Equity | ARCX:EUSC | 37.84 | USD |
| Invesco S&P Smallcap 600 Pure Growth ETF | XNYS:RZG | 50.20 | USD |
| Schwab Fd Us Sml Comp Index | ARCX:FNDA | 29.78 | USD |
| Vanguard Small-Cap Value | ARCX:VBR | 199.65 | USD |
| Dimensional U.S. Small Cap ETF | ARCX:DFAS | 65.29 | USD |
| iShares ESG Screened S&P Small-Cap ETF | BATS:XJR | 41.71 | USD |
| Strive Small-Cap ETF | XNYS:STXK | 31.62 | USD |
We acknowledge that many of these ETFs are not necessarily considered by some to be "smart beta" ETFs. Again, we are including these small cap ETFs in our discussion of smart beta ETFs because "size" is probably the most well documented and agreed upon factor that leads to one ETF outperforming another.
Notable small cap ETFs
IJR is one of the biggest and oldest of the small cap ETFs. It tracks the S&P 600 Small Cap Index, one of the oldest small cap indices.
IWM is also one of the biggest and oldest of the small cap ETFs. It tracks the Russell 2000 Index, another one of the oldest small cap indices.
Does small cap investing outperform?
As mentioned above "size" is one of the most well established factors identified during academic research that can lead to a stock outperforming the market. Most of the best performing ETFs that have been around at least eight years are small and mid cap stock ETFs, or are total market ETFs that by design include small and mid cap stocks.
The market usually goes in cycles where for periods of time, small cap stocks will outperform large cap stocks, and then for other periods of time large cap stocks will outperform small cap stocks.