SPSM and IJR Own Identical Portfolios. Here's Why the Choice Still Matters.

1 hour ago 1

Sara Appino, The Motley Fool

Mon, May 11, 2026 astatine 9:05 AM CDT 4 min read

The State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 600 Small Cap ETF (NYSEMKT:SPSM) offers a lower-cost introduction to tiny caps, portion the iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (NYSEMKT:IJR) provides superior liquidity and humanities longevity.

Both funds people the S&P SmallCap 600 Index, providing vulnerability to profitable small-cap U.S. companies. While they stock the aforesaid underlying scale and hazard profiles, investors typically take betwixt them based connected subtle differences successful disbursal ratios, trading volume, and assets nether absorption (AUM).

Snapshot (cost & size)

Metric

SPSM

IJR

Issuer	SPDR	iShares
Expense ratio	0.03%	0.06%
1-yr instrumentality (as of May 7, 2026)	37.30%	37.10%
Dividend yield	1.40%	1.20%
Beta	1.04	1.04
AUM	$15.6 billion	$102.9 billion

Beta measures terms volatility comparative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated from five-year monthly returns. The 1-yr instrumentality represents full instrumentality implicit the trailing 12 months. Dividend output is the trailing-12-month organisation yield.

The State Street money is much affordable with a 0.03% disbursal ratio, redeeming investors 3 dollars per $10,000 invested annually compared to the iShares fund. It besides presently offers a somewhat higher organisation output of 1.40%.

Performance & hazard examination

Metric

SPSM

IJR

Max drawdown (5 yr)	(27.90%)	(28.00%)
Growth of $1,000 implicit 5 years (total return)	$1,324	$1,320

What's wrong

The iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (NYSEMKT:IJR) holds 640 stocks and was launched successful 2000. Its largest positions see Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV) astatine 0.74%, Sanmina (NASDAQ:SANM) astatine 0.71%, and FormFactor (NASDAQ:FORM) astatine 0.66%. The money focuses connected fiscal services (16.00%), industrials (16.00%), and exertion (15.00%). It has a trailing-12-month dividend of $1.60 per share.

The State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 600 Small Cap ETF (NYSEMKT:SPSM) holds 606 stocks and was launched successful 2013. Its apical holdings see FormFactor (NASDAQ:FORM) astatine 0.61%, Viavi Solutions (NASDAQ:VIAV) astatine 0.58%, and Semtech (NASDAQ:SMTC) astatine 0.58%. It has a akin assemblage illustration led by industrials (17.00%) and fiscal services (17.00%), and paid $0.77 per stock implicit the trailing 12 months.

For much guidance connected ETF investing, cheque retired the afloat usher astatine this link.

What this means for investors

Small-cap stocks — companies excessively tiny for the S&P 500 — person historically outperformed ample caps implicit agelong clip horizons, but with a catch: The small-cap beingness is afloat of speculative, unprofitable companies that tin resistance returns down significantly. Both SPSM and IJR sidestep that occupation by tracking the S&P SmallCap 600, an scale that requires profitability earlier admission. That shared prime surface is what sets them isolated from broader small-cap funds.

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