Best ETFs
Schwab and Vanguard charge the same 0.03%. Their small-cap funds are 3.7 percentage points apart
Simplify Piper Sandler US Small-Cap PLUS Income ETF
$33.550.00 (0.00%)
- 0.91%
- $6M
- +26.8%
- 2.31%
- 0M sh
- $33.51
- low $26.45high $35.36
The ETF.net LITL Grade
D
Score 29 out of 100
- 32 of 41
Score 29 of 100 falls in the D band. A is 70 or higher, B 55 to under 70, C 40 to under 55, D 25 to under 40, F under 25.
Cost
The fund’s net expense ratio, ranked against its category.F8 out of 100Rank 38 of 41Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.A70 out of 100Rank 7 of 38Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.F9 out of 100Rank 40 of 41Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.B66 out of 100Rank 16 of 41Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.D28 out of 100Rank 35 of 41
Our read on LITL
DMost equity income funds sell calls on the stocks they own and cap their own upside. LITL sells put spreads on outside indices instead, bolting an income engine onto an actively rotated basket of about 200 US small caps.
LITL seeks capital appreciation and income through an actively managed opportunistic strategy paired with a risk-managed income-generating options strategy.
Why people hold it
- The overlay sells put spreads on outside equity, bond and commodity indices or ETFs, so premium income is generated without writing calls against the fund's own stock sleeve.simplify.ussimplify.us
- Piper Sandler's model picks the 3-4 style factors (value, profitability, earnings growth and similar) it reads as favorable for the current business cycle, then reranks the universe.simplify.us
- Starts from roughly 2,000 small caps, screens out the most illiquid names, and lands on about 200 holdings. Liquidity screening matters more down here than in large caps.simplify.us
Worth knowing
- 0.91% a year sits well above the active US small-cap median near 0.5%, and several times what systematic peers like AVUV and AVSC charge at 0.25%.
- A 2025 launch that is still small and thinly traded, so bid-ask spreads can be wide and the live record is short.
- Income comes from option premium rather than dividends, so payouts are irregular, and short put spreads can take losses in a sharp selloff alongside the small-cap sleeve.simplify.ussimplify.us
LITL Holdings
- Stocks
- 184
- 80%
- Trs Sbar 061527
Sectors
- Health Care23.0%
- Technology18.0%
- Financials17.8%
- Industrials9.9%
- Consumer Discretionary9.9%
- Energy6.5%
- Real Estate5.2%
- Communication4.2%
- Consumer Staples3.0%
- Materials2.4%
Geography
- United States93.68%
- Bermuda3.50%
- France0.57%
- Monaco0.57%
- Jersey0.56%
- Puerto Rico0.56%
- United Kingdom0.54%
LITL Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
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LITL$12,683
Returns run to the Oct 12, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
| Period | LITL |
|---|---|
| Year to date | +15.5% |
| 1 month | +0.2% |
| 3 months | −1.5% |
| 1 year | +26.8% |
| 3 years | — |
| 5 years | — |
| 10 years | — |
Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.
| Year | Return bar | LITL |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | +15.5% | |
| 2025 | +18.7% |
LITL in the news
LITL Dividends
- 2.31%
- $0.77
- $0.10 per share
- Monthly
Distribution history
LITL Risk
- 15.2%
How it’s calculated: standard deviation
The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.
- 1.24
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio
Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.
Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.
- −9.4%
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown
The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.
Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.
- 0.69
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
LITL Cost
0.91%
LITL0.91%
- The middle half of US Active Small-Cap funds
- Median 0.55%
35 of the 39 US Active Small-Cap funds charge less.
Other funds in US Active Small-Cap
- DSGRWHarbor Active Small Cap Growth ETF (SGRW)Expense ratio 0.80%1 year return —
- DALILArgent Focused Small Cap ETFExpense ratio 0.74%1 year return +9.1%
- DMMSCFirst Trust Multi-Manager Small Cap Opportunities ETFExpense ratio 0.95%1 year return +14.3%
- DFESCFirst Eagle Small Cap Equity ETFExpense ratio 0.85%1 year return —
- DAFSCabrdn Focused U.S. Small Cap Active ETFExpense ratio 1.09%1 year return +27.4%