BlackRock iShares has expanded its line of traditional beta-index exchange traded funds to include the first option to track the benchmark Russell 2500 Index of small- and mid-sized U.S. companies.
On Friday, BlackRock rolled out the iShares Russell 2500 ETF (BATS: SMMD). The ETF comes with a 0.15% expense ratio.
“The Russell 2500 has long been a staple for institutional investors, but lacked a turnkey ETF implementation,” Martin Small, Head of U.S. iShares at BlackRock, said in a note. “SMMD will be the first ETF to bring Russell’s ‘smid’ cap index to the fast-growing ETF market, and aims to provide lower cost efficient exposure to equities with growth potential.”
The Russell 2500 has grown in popularity among institutional-size investors as more managers shifted way from the Russell 2000 as a benchmark for their actively managed portfolios.
The new Russell 2500 ETF tries to reflect the performance of the Russell 2500 Index, which is comprised of 2,500 mid- and small-cap stocks taken from the broader Russell 3000. This new fund will help investors better target specific areas of the market through an easy-to-use investment vehicle.