FDLO vs SMLV

FDLOBFidelity Low Volatility Factor ETF

SMLVBState Street SPDR US Small Cap Low Volatility Index ETF

In short

FDLO Fidelity's in-house take on low volatility: roughly 130 US stocks drawn from an index Fidelity built itself, priced under the category median and matched to what the category's biggest name charges.

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

FDLO The fund seeks investment returns that generally correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the Fidelity U.S. Low Volatility Factor Index.

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

Why people hold it

• FDLO 0.15% a year undercuts the low-vol category's median fee and matches USMV, the category heavyweight, while running a very different, tighter portfolio.
• Does the job it advertises: it hews closely to the Fidelity U.S. Low Volatility Factor Index rather than drifting into a generic large-cap blend.
• Trading is smooth for a factor fund: a multi-billion-dollar portfolio with steady daily volume, so getting in and out is rarely the hard part.
• Running since 2016 with a real track record behind it, and it sits in the upper half of the US low-volatility group on our review.

• 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

• FDLO Low volatility means a steadier ride than the broad market, not a shield. This is a fully invested US stock fund, and stock funds fall.
• About 130 names is a narrow roster for a large-cap fund, and the resulting sector tilts are where it looks thinner than peers holding wider baskets.
• The benchmark is Fidelity's own index, so the rules and any future tweaks sit with the issuer rather than an independent index provider.

• 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 FDLO profile⁠

Full SMLV profile⁠