The iShares U.S. Small-Cap Equity Factor ETF (SMLF) was launched on 04/28/2015, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Blend category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.

Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.

If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.

By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.

Methodologies like equal-weighting, one of the simplest options out there, fundamental weighting, and volatility/momentum based weighting are all choices offered to investors in this space, but not all of them can deliver superior returns.

Fund Sponsor & Index

SMLF is managed by Blackrock, and this fund has amassed over $1.50 billion, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Small Cap Blend. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the MSCI USA Small Cap Diversified Multiple-Factor Index.

The STOXX U.S. Small-Cap Equity Factor Index (USD) composed of U.S. small-capitalization stocks that have favourable exposure to target style factors subject to constraints.

Cost & Other Expenses

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.

Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.15% for SMLF, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.

SMLF's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 0.84%.

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 in the Industrials sector - about 18.40% of the portfolio. Information Technology and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Taking into account individual holdings, Emcor Group Inc (EME) accounts for about 0.94% of the fund's total assets, followed by Applovin Corp Class A (APP) and Evercore Inc Class A (EVR).