SIZE vs XSHD

SIZEAiShares MSCI USA Size Factor ETF

XSHDDInvesco S&P SmallCap High Dividend Low Volatility ETF

In short

SIZE The size factor without leaving the large-cap pool: SIZE holds roughly 500 US stocks and leans toward the smaller names in that universe, spreading weight away from the mega-cap giants. An iShares factor original from 2013.

XSHD The high-yield-then-low-volatility recipe, run down in the S&P SmallCap 600 instead of the usual blue chips. A few dozen small caps picked for payout first and calm second, with cash paid out monthly.

Stated mandate

SIZE The fund seeks to track an index of U.S. stocks that have smaller market capitalizations relative to their peers.

XSHD The fund seeks to track its underlying index before fees and expenses by investing primarily in securities included in that index.

Why people hold it

• SIZE Charges 0.15%, roughly half the typical fee among US factor ETFs.
• Tracks the MSCI USA Low Size Index tightly, one of the closer index implementations in its peer group.
• Roughly 500 holdings, so no single name dominates the way it does in a cap-weighted US index.
• Running since 2013, one of the original iShares single-factor funds rather than a recent launch.ishares.com

• XSHD Two-step screen with a clear order of operations: rank the small-cap universe by trailing 12-month dividend yield first, then keep the least volatile of those names.spglobal.com
• Pays monthly, a cadence rare among small-cap equity funds, where quarterly is the norm.
• Income and low-volatility screens usually live in large caps. This one applies them inside the S&P SmallCap 600, a part of the market most yield funds skip.invesco.com
• Rules-based and running since 2016: holdings change on the index's schedule, not a manager's hunch.

Worth knowing

• SIZE Thinly traded next to headline index funds, so bid-ask spreads can run wider and bigger orders need more care.
• This is a tilt, not a small-cap fund: the index draws from US large and mid caps and favors the smaller end of that pool.
• A mid-sized fund by category standards, not one of the asset-gathering giants. Pays quarterly.

• XSHD Thinly traded. Spreads can be wider than in the household-name funds, so limit orders and a look at the quote before you hit the button matter more here.
• 0.30% a year, a shade above the typical fee among US factor ETFs, and the fund sits in the lower reaches of that peer group on cost and tradability.
• Yield-first selection concentrates the portfolio in the highest-paying corners of small caps, across only a few dozen names, and the volatility screen reads the past 12 months.spglobal.com

Full SIZE profile⁠

Full XSHD profile⁠