Yahoo Finance Should WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap ETF (EES) Be on Your Investing Radar?
If you're interested in broad exposure to the Small Cap Value segment of the US equity market, look no further than the WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap ETF (EES), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 02/23/2007.
The fund is sponsored by Wisdomtree. It has amassed assets over $546.93 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Value segment of the US equity market.
Why Small Cap Value
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.
Carrying lower than average price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios, value stocks also have lower than average sales and earnings growth rates. Considering long-term performance, value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in almost all markets; however, they are more likely to underperform growth stocks in strong bull markets.
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 0.38%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.41%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
ETFs offer a diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Consumer Discretionary sector--about 22.40% of the portfolio. Financials and Industrials round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Mdc Holdings Inc (MDC) accounts for about 0.92% of total assets, followed by Tri Pointe Group Inc (TPH) and Genworth Financial Inc (GNW).
The top 10 holdings account for about 6.85% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
EES seeks to match the performance of the WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap Earnings Index before fees and expenses. The WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap Index is a fundamentally weighted index that measures the performance of earnings-generating companies within the small-capitalization segment of the U.S. Stock Market.
The ETF has lost about -1.33% so far this year and is down about -5.28% in the last one year (as of 05/18/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $39.17 and $49.11.
The ETF has a beta of 1.26 and standard deviation of 25.59% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 912 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap 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, EES is an outstanding 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 iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF (IWN) and the Vanguard Small-Cap Value ETF (VBR) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF has $10.85 billion in assets, Vanguard Small-Cap Value ETF has $23.30 billion. IWN has an expense ratio of 0.23% and VBR charges 0.07%.
Bottom-Line
An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they 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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WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap ETF (EES): ETF Research Reports
Genworth Financial, Inc. (GNW) : Free Stock Analysis Report
M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. (MDC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Tri Pointe Homes Inc. (TPH) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Vanguard Small-Cap Value ETF (VBR): ETF Research Reports
iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF (IWN): ETF Research Reports
