On Thursday, Harbor Capital launched the Harbor Active Small Cap ETF (SMLL ).
“Small caps are top of mind for Harbor as we believe they have the potential to offer attractive returns over the coming cycle,” noted Kristof Gleich, president & CIO at Harbor Capital Advisors. SMLL seeks to generate long-term return for its investors. The fund is actively managed, and has a net expense ratio of 0.80%. As the fund’s name implies, SMLL primarily invests its assets toward U.S. small-caps.
Small-Cap Analysis
Byron Place Capital Management serves as the fund manager. To select small-cap companies to add to the portfolio, Byron Place uses a proprietary bottom-up analysis strategy. In doing so, the fund aims to curate a portfolio of 30-80 companies that have competitive business advantages.
Along with competitive advantages, Byron Place scrutinizes small-cap companies for a number of other crucial factors. This includes good long-term positioning and generation of free cash flow. Additionally, SMLL looks at a company’s management team to best determine how well it will maintain capital and deliver shareholder value.
Besides company-specific analysis, the fund will also examine a stock’s intrinsic value to seek discounted buying opportunities. The prospectus adds that securities may be sold if the determines that a company undergoes changes to its fundamentals compared to Byron Place’s assessment of the stock.
While small-cap investing can expose investors to risk and volatility, SMLL offers the added benefits of active management. With an active management team, the fund can more adaptably readjust its positioning based on economic and market movements. This can open up the opportunity for greater long-term value, while mitigating potential risk.
With over 10 ETFs trading in the U.S. currently, Harbor Capital has extensive experience in producing quality active ETF products. One of Harbor’s largest active funds, the Harbor Long-Term Growers ETF (WINN ), has over $500 million in assets under management.
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