ESMV vs SMLV

ESMVCiShares ESG Optimized MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF

SMLVBState Street SPDR US Small Cap Low Volatility Index ETF

In short

ESMV Minimum volatility with an ESG conscience. ESMV runs MSCI's low-vol optimizer across US large and mid caps, then pushes the result toward better ESG characteristics and lower carbon than the parent index, for 0.18% a year.

SMLV Low volatility is usually a large-cap game. SMLV runs the same calm-stocks screen down where the swings actually live: US small caps, roughly 400 of them, for 0.12% a year.

Stated mandate

ESMV The Fund seeks to track an index of U.S. large- and mid-capitalization equities designed to have lower volatility, reduced carbon exposure, and improved environmental, social, and governance characteristics relative to the parent index.

SMLV The fund's advertised mandate is exposure to U.S. small-capitalization companies selected for low volatility.

Why people hold it

• ESMV 0.18% a year, which undercuts what the typical US factor fund in its peer group charges.
• Two mandates in one ticker: MSCI's minimum volatility optimization plus ESG and reduced-carbon constraints measured against the MSCI USA parent index.ishares.com
• Roughly 160 US large and mid caps, chosen by published index rules rather than a manager's hunch, with cash paid out quarterly.
• Lands in the upper half of the US factor funds we grade, on the strength of its cheap fee and broad, diversified book.

• SMLV Costs 0.12% a year, under the 0.20% median for its low-volatility peer group.
• The low-vol shelf is stacked with large-cap mandates (USMV, LGLV, ONEV). This one applies the screen to US small caps instead.ssga.com
• Roughly 400 holdings, so no single small cap steers the fund. It has tracked its index through live markets since 2013.
• Sits in the upper half of its low-volatility cohort on our overall read.

Worth knowing

• ESMV One of the lighter-traded names in its factor cohort, so bid-ask spreads can run wider than at the category's household-name funds.
• Minimum volatility aims to dampen swings, not to prevent losses, and stacking an ESG and carbon screen on top pulls the portfolio further from plain US beta.
• Launched in 2021, so its live record covers a shorter stretch than the older min-vol funds it competes with.

• SMLV Thinly traded next to the giants of the category, so the spread you pay at the point of trade matters more here.
• Low volatility is relative, not absolute. This is still small-cap equity, and it rides rougher than the large-cap min-vol funds it shares a shelf with.
• Distributions land quarterly, not monthly.

Full ESMV profile⁠

Full SMLV profile⁠