The SPDR Portfolio S&P 600 Small Cap ETF (SPSM) was launched on July 8, 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 Investment Management. It has amassed assets over $12.31 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
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.
Blend ETFs are aptly named, since they tend to hold a mix of growth and value stocks, as well as show characteristics of both kinds of equities.
Costs
Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.
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 1.79%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Industrials sector -- about 19.9% of the portfolio. Financials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Mr Cooper Group Inc (COOP) accounts for about 0.7% of total assets, followed by Kratos Defense + Security (KTOS) and Aerovironment Inc (AVAV).
The top 10 holdings account for about 5.81% 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 2.18% so far this year and is up roughly 7.88% in the last one year (as of 08/14/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $35.35 and $49.55.
The ETF has a beta of 1.07 and standard deviation of 21.67% for the trailing three-year period. With about 610 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 a great 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 Vanguard Small-Cap ETF (VB) and the iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR) track a similar index. While Vanguard Small-Cap ETF has $65.67 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF has $84.61 billion. VB has an expense ratio of 0.05% and IJR charges 0.06%.
Bottom-Line
Retail and institutional investors increasingly turn to passively managed ETFs because they offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; these kind of funds 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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SPDR Portfolio S&P 600 Small Cap ETF (SPSM): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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