FEMV vs SMCO

FEMVAFidelity Enhanced Mid Cap Value ETF

SMCOBHilton Small-MidCap Opportunity ETF

In short

FEMV Active mid-cap value, priced like an index fund. FEMV hunts capital appreciation in the Russell Midcap Value corner of the US market for 0.23% a year, a fraction of the typical active US equity ETF fee.

SMCO An active small- and mid-cap stock picker in a peer group stuffed with cheap large-cap core index funds. Hilton's sub-adviser runs a proprietary US small/mid process built for long-term capital appreciation, priced under the typical active US equity fund.

Stated mandate

FEMV The fund seeks capital appreciation and targets the U.S. mid-cap value segment of the equity market.

SMCO The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation.

Why people hold it

• FEMV 0.23% a year, well under the going rate for active US equity ETFs. At that price, cost stops being the argument against going active.
• The mandate is stated plainly: US mid-cap value, measured against the Russell Midcap Value index, aiming at capital appreciation. Little guesswork about what you own.fidelity.com
• The portfolio mix and risk profile screen well against other active US stock ETFs, with no leverage, derivatives quirks or unusual wrapper features flagged in the structure.
• Part of Fidelity's Enhanced lineup, whose large-cap sibling FELC (0.18%) ranks among the strongest active US equity funds in the peer group.

• SMCO Charges 0.55% a year, below the 0.65% median for active US equity funds. Not index-fund cheap, but light for a discretionary stock-picking mandate.
• Hunts US small and mid caps, the ground the cohort's top-scoring giants (DFAU, FELC, DFAC) mostly skip with their large-cap core books.
• The portfolio itself is the strongest part of the package: a diversified US equity book with no structural quirks in the wrapper, and it lands in the upper half of its peer group.

Worth knowing

• FEMV Launched in 2026, so there is no long record to lean on and the risk read rests on a short history.
• A small asset base and thin trading volume are the trade-off for being early. Spreads can run wider than at a mega-fund, especially in fast markets.
• Distributions land once or twice a year, not monthly. This is a growth-of-capital mandate, not an income schedule.

• SMCO Thinly traded. Spreads can run wider than in the category's mega-funds, so order size and timing matter more here than with a household-name index ETF.
• Launched in late 2023, so the record is short and covers one stretch of market weather.
• Small and mid caps swing harder than large caps, and there is no published index to measure the manager against. Outcomes ride on the sub-adviser's process.

Full FEMV profile⁠

Full SMCO profile⁠