The Federal Reserve cut rates three times between September and December 2025, bringing its benchmark rate down from 4.5% to its current level of 3.75%.
iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF is rated a Buy, offering a 30% valuation discount to the S&P 500 with faster projected earnings growth. IJR's profitability screen avoids the 43% unprofitable companies in IWM, providing cleaner exposure to the small-cap rotation thesis. Manufacturing expansion, industrial policy tailwinds, and rate sensitivity create a compelling multi-quarter setup for IJR, with significant potential upside.
Cooling inflation boosts the odds for a Fed interest rate cut in June. These ETFs can help investors ride the potential gains.
Looking for broad exposure to the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market? You should consider the iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on May 22, 2000.
The biggest takeaway from Goldman Sachs' 2026 investment forecast, at least in my view, has to be that a more active approach might be more worth considering over a passive one, especially if you subscribe to the belief that the S&P 500 is destined for 6.5% in annual returns over the next decade, which is quite modest, even disappointing, given many investors might have the expectation for a long-term average gain closer to 10%.
I favor iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF as a long-term buy due to its embedded quality filter and lower expense ratio. I rate iShares Russell 2000 ETF a hold, as its recent outperformance is driven by speculative, unprofitable companies unlikely to sustain momentum. IJR's focus on profitable financials and industrials, lower volatility, and higher yield make it a superior core allocation for small-cap exposure.
Coming into 2025, amid a debate about concentration and lofty valuations in the largest of large-cap stocks, as well as concerns about macro uncertainty and economic conditions, we collectively called for diversification. That diversification, among other things, singled out the opportunity in small-caps.
The small caps are starting to get cheap again after the latest round of market selling concentrated in the AI growth names.
Designed to provide broad exposure to the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market, the iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on May 22, 2000.
The Fed's recent rate decision has led us to form a higher-for-longer interest rate outlook. We see a few reasons that could help IJR better navigate the interest rate uncertainties ahead than IWM. The top ones are its avoidance of microcaps and more attractive valuation judging by yield.
If you're interested in broad exposure to the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market, look no further than the iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 05/22/2000.
Small business owners grew more optimistic in May, reflecting improved expectations for business conditions and sales, according to the latest data from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). The latest data revealed that the small business optimism index climbed to 98.8 in May, up from 95.8 in April.