State Street’s SPSM outperforms iShares’ ISCB over the past year despite similar expense ratios and sector exposure.
State Street’s SPDR Portfolio S&P 600 Small Cap ETF (SPSM) delivered stronger trailing 12-month returns than iShares Morningstar Small-Cap ETF (ISCB), though both target U.S. small-cap stocks. SPSM’s curated 600-stock portfolio contrasts with ISCB’s broader 1,586-holding benchmark, yet expense ratios differ by just 1 basis point.
ISCB’s sector allocation is led by industrials (18%), technology (16%), and financials (16%), with top holdings including Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) and Okta (OKTA). Both funds offer similar dividend yields—SPSM at 1.4% and ISCB at 1.3%—and paid $0.95 per share over the past year.
The performance gap emerges despite comparable risk profiles, with beta measures indicating similar volatility relative to the S&P 500.