Best ETFs
Schwab and Vanguard charge the same 0.03%. Their small-cap funds are 3.7 percentage points apart
ETC 6 Meridian Small Cap Equity ETF
$55.99+0.25 (+0.45%)
- 0.31%
- $139M
- +18.7%
- 1.93%
- 0M sh
- $55.46
- low $48.05high $60.43
The ETF.net SIXS Grade
B
Score 68 out of 100
- 7 of 41
Score 68 of 100 falls in the B 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.A89 out of 100Rank 5 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.A74 out of 100Rank 4 of 38Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.C43 out of 100Rank 26 of 41Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.C40 out of 100Rank 31 of 41Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.B66 out of 100Rank 12 of 41
Our read on SIXS
BA quant screen that makes small caps earn their spot on growth, profitability, quality and value, then keeps about 90 of them. Running since 2020, it's a boutique sub-adviser's in-house small-cap process in ETF form.
The Fund seeks capital appreciation. Its sub-adviser applies a quantitatively driven strategy emphasizing high-quality small-capitalization securities.
Why people hold it
- Four screens, not one: growth, profitability, quality and value are weighed together, so a cheap stock with weak books has a harder time making the cut.
- Roughly 90 names, not the whole small-cap haystack. Each pick has room to actually move the fund.
- The 0.52% fee sits right at the median for active small-cap ETFs: the going rate for a quant process rather than a premium on top of it.
- Distributions arrive monthly, and the fund sits in the upper half of its actively managed small-cap peer group.
Worth knowing
- It trades thinly. The spread, not just the expense ratio, is part of what a round trip costs here.
- Avantis (AVUV, AVSC) and Dimensional (DUHP) run systematic small-cap strategies at 0.25% or less, so this one is paying up for a different model.
- Assets are modest by ETF standards, and the ranking model is described in broad strokes in the prospectus rather than published rule by rule.
SIXS Holdings
- Stocks
- 85
- 20%
- INSW
Sectors
- Real Estate14.5%
- Health Care11.9%
- Energy11.8%
- Financials11.8%
- Consumer Staples11.3%
- Utilities11.2%
- Consumer Discretionary8.4%
- Technology8.1%
- Industrials8.0%
- Communication2.3%
- Materials0.9%
Geography
- United States93.95%
- Bermuda4.94%
- Cayman Islands1.11%
SIXS Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
Not enough history yet.
SIXS$11,870
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 | SIXS |
|---|---|
| Year to date | +11.6% |
| 1 month | −3.0% |
| 3 months | −4.8% |
| 1 year | +18.7% |
| 3 years | +11.8% |
| 5 years | +4.4% |
| 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 | SIXS |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | +11.6% | |
| 2025 | +4.6% | |
| 2024 | +5.9% | |
| 2023 | +14.9% | |
| 2022 | −18.5% | |
| 2021 | +40.7% | |
| 2020 | +43.4% |
SIXS in the news
SIXS Dividends
- 1.93%
- $1.07
- $0.11 per share
- Monthly
Distribution history
SIXS Risk
- 15.8%
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.
- 0.42
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.
- −27.7%
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.
- 0.57
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
SIXS Cost
0.31%
SIXS0.31%
- The middle half of US Active Small-Cap funds
- Median 0.55%
4 of the 39 US Active Small-Cap funds charge less.
Other funds in US Active Small-Cap
- BJSMLJanus Henderson Small Cap Growth Alpha ETFExpense ratio 0.30%1 year return +21.2%
- BBSVOEA Bridgeway Omni Small-Cap Value ETFExpense ratio 0.45%1 year return +33.9%
- BFSMLFranklin Small Cap Enhanced ETFExpense ratio 0.45%1 year return —
- BSQLVRoyce Quant Small-Cap Quality Value ETFExpense ratio 0.60%1 year return +29.2%
- BSCDSJPMorgan Fundamental Data Science Small Core ETFExpense ratio 0.40%1 year return +27.9%