iShares Russell 2500 ETF

iShares Russell 2500 ETF (SMMD) is a BlackRock index fund that tracks the Russell 2500 Index, which covers about 2,427 small and midsize US companies. One unusual feature: as of June 30, 2026, about 41% of its assets sat in another BlackRock fund, the iShares Russell 2000 ETF. Its 0.15% expense ratio is close to the 0.14% average of similar funds, but well above the 0.05% charged by Vanguard Small Cap ETF (VB).

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, SMMD returned +15.7%, 5th of 9 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +7.0%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 41.1% and regained its old high 7.6 months after the low.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-18.5%); its best was 2019 (+28.0%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 41.1% (Feb 20, 2020 to Mar 23, 2020), recovered by Nov 9, 2020.

As of Jun 30, 2026, the fund held 514 securities; the ten largest made up 44.12% of assets, and 38.21% sat in cash and money-market holdings.

• Over the three months to Jun 30, 2026, investors added a net $477.9M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +11.10%, +4.43%, +3.67%.

SMMD follows the Russell 2500 Index, which is run by FTSE Russell, part of the London Stock Exchange Group. The index takes about 2,427 of the smallest companies in the Russell 3000, a measure of the broad US stock market. As of March 31, 2026, those companies made up about 11% of the Russell 3000's total value, and industrial companies were a large share of the index. The index is "float-adjusted" and weighted by market value. That means bigger companies count for more, based only on the shares that are available to trade.

BlackRock uses "representative sampling." Instead of buying every stock, it holds a mix chosen to match the index's size, industry and risk profile. A large part of this comes through another fund. As of June 30, 2026, about 41% of assets were in the iShares Russell 2000 ETF. Most of the rest was in roughly 500 individual stocks. The largest, MKS and Carpenter Technology, were about 0.4% each. The fund also held small futures positions on the Russell 2000 and the S&P MidCap 400. Futures are contracts that track an index.

Under normal conditions, at least 80% of assets must be in index stocks or holdings that give similar exposure. Russell decides which companies enter or leave the index. Portfolio turnover was 20%, and the fund may lend out up to one-third of its assets.

• SMMD charges 0.15% a year, versus an average of 0.14% for the similar funds below (6th of 9, cheapest first).
• The fee includes a 0.08% waiver from the adviser, which may end.
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $15 in the first year and $285 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

It adds small and midsize US companies to a portfolio built mostly around large-company funds.

SMMD could widen a large-company portfolio to include about 2,427 smaller US firms, but it swings more. It launched in July 2017, so it has no record from 2008. In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 41.1% in about a month. It got back to its old high on November 9, 2020, about 7.6 months later. In the 2022 bear market it dropped 24.7% and took 17.8 months to recover, until March 2024. Its worst calendar year was 2022, at −18.32%. Someone selling shares to pay bills in a year like that would lock in losses. The yield was 1.13% as of October 27, 2026, paid quarterly, so income is small. In the SEC's standard example, costs come to $15 in the first year on a $10,000 investment. Past results don't predict the future, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports.