Looking for broad exposure to the Small Cap Growth segment of the US equity market? You should consider the Invesco S&P SmallCap Momentum ETF (XSMO), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on March 3, 2005.
The fund is sponsored by Invesco. It has amassed assets over $2.91 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.
Why Small Cap Growth
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.
While growth stocks do boast higher than average sales and earnings growth rates, and they are expected to grow faster than the wider market, investors should note these kinds of stocks have higher valuations. Also, growth stocks are a type of equity that carries more risk compared to others. When you consider growth versus value, growth stocks are usually the clear winner in strong bull markets but tend to fall flat in nearly all other environments.
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 0.36%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.58%.
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 Industrials sector -- about 21.9% of the portfolio. Financials and Information Technology round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Viasat Inc (VSAT) accounts for about 5.07% of total assets, followed by Protagonist Therapeutics Inc (PTGX) and Esco Technologies Inc (ESE).
The top 10 holdings account for about 24.78% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
XSMO seeks to match the performance of the S&P SMALLCAP 600 MOMENTUM INDEX before fees and expenses. The S&P Smallcap 600 Momentum Index is composed of securities with strong growth characteristics selected from the Russell 2000 Index.
The ETF return is roughly 14.62% so far this year and it's up approximately 13.13% in the last one year (as of 09/15/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $68.61 and $93.63.
The ETF has a beta of 1.08 and standard deviation of 21.07% for the trailing three-year period. With about 109 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
Invesco S&P SmallCap Momentum ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, XSMO is a sufficient option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Growth area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.
The iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF (IWO) and the Vanguard Morningstar Small-Cap Growth ETF (VBK) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF has $14.34 billion in assets, Vanguard Morningstar Small-Cap Growth ETF has $22.97 billion. IWO has an expense ratio of 0.24% and VBK charges 0.05%.
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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Invesco S&P SmallCap Momentum ETF (XSMO): ETF Research Reports
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).