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AFSM vs SMLF

First Trust Active Factor Small Cap ETF vs iShares U.S. Small-Cap Equity Factor ETF

AFSM

First Trust Active Factor Small Cap ETF

First Trust

Annual cost

0.75%

Fund size

$94M

SMLF

iShares U.S. Small-Cap Equity Factor ETF

iShares

Annual cost

0.15%

Fund size

$3.6B

Key differences

  • SMLF costs 0.60% less per year.
  • SMLF is significantly larger than AFSM — larger funds tend to be more liquid and less likely to close.
  • AFSM follows a active selection strategy; SMLF uses index tracking.
  • Over the last 3 years, SMLF has delivered higher annualized returns.

Side-by-side comparison

AFSMSMLF
Annual cost (TER)0.75%0.15%
Fund size (AUM)$94M$3.6B
Since20192015
Dividend yield0.49%1.07%
Asset classequityequity
Regionnorth americanorth america
Strategyactive selectionindex tracking
CAGR 1Y+32.0%+31.5%
CAGR 3Y+19.1%+20.4%
CAGR 5Y+8.9%+10.7%
Sharpe 3Y0.800.86
Volatility 1Y17.84%17.32%
Max drawdown-43.54%-41.89%

Green dot indicates the better value for that metric. Performance data is historical and does not predict future results.

Similar to AFSM and SMLF