FLQS vs ILCV

FLQSCFranklin U.S. Small Cap Multifactor Index ETF

ILCVAiShares Morningstar Value ETF

In short

FLQS Four screens (value, quality, momentum, low volatility) run across about 500 small U.S. companies. Franklin's LibertyQ recipe, live since 2017: small-cap breadth with a rules-based tilt instead of a plain size index.

ILCV Value done the thorough way: roughly 400 large- and mid-cap US stocks screened on five separate value measures, not just cheap book value. Running since 2004 at four basis points, it's one of the cheapest tickets into the value factor.

Stated mandate

FLQS The Fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the LibertyQ U.S. Small Cap Equity Index. It normally invests at least 80% of assets in the index's component securities.

ILCV The fund seeks to track an index of U.S. large- and mid-cap stocks selected with value-oriented measures including forward earnings, book value, sales, cash flow, and dividend yield.

Why people hold it

• FLQS Four factors in one ticket: value, quality, momentum and low volatility, blended by index rule rather than by a manager's mood.
• Roughly 500 names spread single-stock accidents thin, which counts for more in small caps than anywhere else on the risk spectrum.
• Sticks close to its LibertyQ benchmark, so the index rulebook is a fair description of what actually sits in the portfolio.
• Same mandate since its 2017 launch, with income paid out quarterly.

• ILCV Charges 0.04% a year against a 0.32% median for its factor peer group. Undercuts well-regarded rivals like VONV (0.06%) and FNDX (0.25%).
• Value gets defined five ways: forward earnings, book value, sales, cash flow and dividend yield. Wider lens than a single price-to-book screen.ishares.com
• Spreads the bet across about 400 large- and mid-cap names and distributes quarterly.
• Trading since 2004 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund, it ranks among the strongest implementations in its factor cohort.

Worth knowing

• FLQS 0.35% a year sits a shade above the typical multifactor peer, and above cheaper rules-based options such as FNDX at 0.25%.
• One of the lighter-traded funds in its category, so bid-ask spreads can add cost beyond the headline fee.
• Small caps swing harder than large caps. The low-volatility screen softens that ride, it does not remove it.

• ILCV One of the quieter tickers in its category. Thin volume means spreads matter more here than on a mega-cap index fund, and limit orders are the usual tool.
• Value-only by design. It skips the market's priciest growth leaders, so it moves differently from a total-market fund in both directions.ishares.com
• Large and mid caps only. Small-cap value sits outside the mandate.

Full FLQS profile⁠

Full ILCV profile⁠