QLV vs SMMV

QLVANorthern Trust US Quality Low Volatility ETF

SMMVBiShares MSCI USA Small-Cap Min Vol Factor ETF

In short

QLV Low vol with a quality gate: the index cuts the weakest-scoring fifth of US large and mid caps, then optimizes what's left for calm. Fee is 0.08% net of a waiver through March 1, 2027.

SMMV BlackRock's minimum-volatility playbook aimed at the jumpiest corner of the US market. Instead of picking the calmest stocks one by one, SMMV tracks an index that optimizes an entire small-cap portfolio for the lowest expected risk.

Stated mandate

QLV The fund seeks to track the Northern Trust Quality Low Volatility Index and provide exposure to U.S. companies selected for lower overall volatility and quality characteristics.

SMMV The fund seeks to track a small-cap U.S. equity index designed around lower-volatility characteristics.

Why people hold it

• QLV The quality screen is the point: stocks are ranked on profitability, management efficiency and cash flow, and the bottom fifth is cut before the volatility work starts.sec.gov
• 0.08% net of a waiver through March 1, 2027: below the category median, and under USMV at 0.15% and LGLV at 0.12%.
• Sector, industry and single-stock limits inside the optimization push back on the utilities-and-staples pileup typical of low vol. Roughly 120 holdings.sec.gov
• Sits in the top quartile of its US low volatility peer group, and pays quarterly.

• SMMV MSCI takes its US small-cap universe and optimizes the whole basket for lowest absolute risk within set constraints. Correlations count, not just single-stock jumpiness.msci.com
• It hugs that index tightly. Whatever the strategy delivers, you get the strategy, not a manager's improvisation.
• About 400 names, and the 0.20% fee sits right at the median for the US low-volatility funds we grade.
• Sits in the upper half of its low-volatility peer group, most of which fish in large caps rather than small.

Worth knowing

• QLV One of the less-traded funds in the category, so the bid-ask spread can matter more at the point of trade than the expense ratio.
• Assets stay modest next to the category's multi-billion-dollar incumbents.
• Low volatility here is relative, not absolute: the aim is calmer than the Northern Trust 1250 parent index, not shelter from a broad selloff.sec.gov

• SMMV Thinly traded. Spreads can run wider than the headline fee suggests, and bigger orders need more care.
• Minimum volatility is not zero volatility. iShares notes there is no guarantee the strategy succeeds, and small caps can be more volatile and less liquid.ishares.com
• Cheaper low-vol shelves exist: QLV charges 0.09% and LGLV 0.12%, while the large-cap sibling USMV runs 0.15%.

Full QLV profile⁠

Full SMMV profile⁠