Should ALPS O'Shares U.S. Small-Cap Quality Dividend ETF (OUSM) Be on Your Investing Radar?

If you're interested in broad exposure to the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market, look no further than the ALPS O'Shares U.S. Small-Cap Quality Dividend ETF (OUSM), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on December 30, 2016.

The fund is sponsored by Alps. It has amassed assets over $857.28 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Small Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

Why Small Cap Blend

Small cap companies have market capitalization below $2 billion. They usually have higher potential than large and mid cap companies with stocks but higher risk.

Blend ETFs are aptly named, since they tend to hold a mix of growth and value stocks, as well as show characteristics of both kinds of equities.

Costs

When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts in the long term if all other factors remain equal.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.48%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.18%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Industrials sector -- about 23.8% of the portfolio. Financials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, National Healthcare Corp. (NHC) accounts for about 3.01% of total assets, followed by Royalty Pharma Plc (RPRX) and Avnet Inc. (AVT).

The top 10 holdings account for about 23.33% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

OUSM seeks to match the performance of the FTSE Russell US Qual / Vol / Yield Factor 3% Capped Index before fees and expenses. The OShares U.S. Small-Cap Quality Dividend Index is designed to reflect the performance of publicly-listed small-capitalization dividend-paying issuers in the United States exhibiting high quality, low volatility and high dividend yields.

The ETF has lost about 1.37% so far this year and it's up approximately 4.06% in the last one year (as of 03/23/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $37.73 and $47.47.

The ETF has a beta of 0.95 and standard deviation of 14.83% for the trailing three-year period. With about 110 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

ALPS O'Shares U.S. Small-Cap Quality Dividend ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, OUSM is a reasonable option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Small Cap Blend area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) and the iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 2000 ETF has $70.37 billion in assets, iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF has $88.96 billion. IWM has an expense ratio of 0.19% and IJR charges 0.06%.

Bottom-Line

An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.

To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.

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ALPS O'Shares U.S. Small-Cap Quality Dividend ETF (OUSM): ETF Research Reports

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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