Small-caps in the US have been extreme laggards compared to large-caps over the last couple of years, but what about small-caps in other countries? Below is a look at the price change (%) of seven small-cap country ETFs since February 2012 (the first point in which all seven were available).
The Russell 2,000 small-cap US ETF (IWM) is up 159.9% over these 12+ years, and only India small-caps (SMIN) have done better with a gain of 222.8%. India small-caps only recently took the lead on the US with a big jump higher over the last 18 months or so.
Small-caps in other countries have been poor options for US investors relative to owning something like the S&P 500 ETF (SPY). The Europe small-cap (IEUS) and Japan small-cap (SCJ) ETFs are up 68.2% and 63.9%, respectively, since February 2012, while the UK small-cap ETF (EWUS) is up 38.8%.
Small-cap ETFs for China (ECNS) and Brazil (EWZS) are flat-out negative over this extended 12+ year time frame with China down 41% and Brazil down 50%.
If you’ve been lamenting the lagging performance of US small-caps, it could have been worse!
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