iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR)
The iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF, created back in 2000, tracks the performance of the S&P SmallCap 600 Index. The fund achieves this by investing the majority of its massive $58 billion asset pool in securities that make up the benchmark index. These securities primarily consist of U.S. small-cap stocks that trade with ample liquidity. The ETF holds 600 stocks in its portfolio, making it reasonably diversified. Top holdings include Stamps.com Inc. (NASDAQ: STMP), HealthEquity, Inc. (NASDAQ: HQY) and Neogen Corporation (NASDAQ: NEOG).
The iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF has an expense ratio of just 0.06%, well below the category average of 0.25%. As of November 2020, IJR has a YTD return of -8.10% and pays investors a 1.65% dividend yield.
Schwab US Small-Cap ETF (SCHA)
Launched in 2009, the Schwab US Small-Cap ETF attempts to provide a similar return to the Dow Jones U.S. Small Cap Total Stock Market Index. The benchmark index includes U.S. stocks ranked between 751 and 2,500 by market cap. Weightings are spread relatively evenly across the ETF's basket of 1,733 stocks, with no holding given more than a 0.38% weighting. Top holdings in the ETF's portfolio include GoDaddy Inc. Class A (NYSE: GDDY), GrubHub Inc. (NYSE: GRUB), and Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NKTR).
The Schwab US Small-Cap ETF is smaller than IJR but is still a sizable fund, with assets under management (AUM) of $10.5 billion. Investors pay a low annual management fee of 0.04%. As of November 2020, SCHA has five-, three- and one-year annualized returns of 14.29%, 4.62%, and 7.75%, respectively. Year to date, the fund has returned -0.47%.
SPDR Portfolio Small Cap ETF (SPSM)
Formed in 2013, the SPDR Portfolio Small Cap ETF attempts to track the SSGA Small Cap Index. The fund achieves this by investing at least 80% of its assets in securities that are part of the underlying index. The benchmark index includes U.S. stocks ranked between 1,001 and 3,000 by market cap. Asset allocation is spread out across the fund's portfolio of 2,026 stocks; its top five holdings have a cumulative weighting of just 1.24%. Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: SRPT) and Wayfair Inc. Class A (NYSE: W) carry the two highest weightings at 0.33% and 0.24%, respectively.
The SPDR Portfolio Small Cap ETF has an asset base of $2.6 billion and charges the same annual fee as SCHA – 0.05%. SPSM has returned 2.04% over the past three years and -8.05% YTD as of November 2020. The fund offers investors a 12-month dividend yield of 1.52%.
Direxion Daily Small Cap Bull 3X ETF (TNA)
The Direxion Daily Small Cap Bull 3X ETF aims to provide three times (3x) the daily return of the Russell 2000 Index. The fund tracks the underlying index by investing 57.32% of its AUM in an ETF that tracks its benchmark and uses a variety of swaps, which are derivative contracts, to provide leveraged returns.
The Direxion Daily Small Cap Bull 3X ETF has $1 billion in net assets. The fund is the most expensive of the four with an expense ratio of 1.12% to cover the additional costs of providing leveraged returns. YTD, the fund has returned -45.9% as of November 2020. TNA's tight spreads and ample liquidity make it a suitable short-term trading instrument for traders who seek magnified returns.
