Additionally, PKW has outperformed many of its top holdings this year and has hauled in over $1.8 billion in new assets just this year, making it third-best PowerShares ETF in terms of asset-gathering proficiency in 2013. [PowerShares Plans Global Version of PKW]
The actively managed AdvisorShares TrimTabs Float Shrink ETF (NYSEArca: TTFS) has also benefited from shrinking share counts with a 35.1% year-to-date gain. TTFS differs from PKW in that the former is an equal-weight and that its screen encompasses more than just share buybacks. TrimTabs gauges a company’s shareholder friendliness by not only its share repurchasing prowess, but if it is buying back those shares with free cash flow, not debt, and not increasing their leverage.
Another ETF that is benefiting from the shrinking market is the iShares Microcap ETF (NYSEArca: IWC). IWC tracks the Russell Microcap Index, which as Santoli notes, takes the 1,000 smallest members of the Russell 2000 and combines those stocks with the next 1,000 stocks that are smaller.
That means IWC should be home to close to 2,000 stocks, but that number was less 1,350 as of Dec. 6, according to iShares data, implying there simply are not enough credible micro-caps for inclusion in IWC. The ETF is up almost 41% this year.
TrimTabs Float Shrink ETF
Tom Lydon’s clients own shares of IWC and TTFS.