Lean on Active Management for Small-Cap Value Success

Small-cap stocks are displaying leadership and value equities. The related ETFs are participating in that trend, renewing investors’ faith in the long potent small-cap value combination.

With that factor union resurgent in 2026, advisors and investors may want to consider accessing it with active management, which can be accomplished with the American Century Small Cap Value Insights ETF (ACSV). ACSV, which debuted last October, attempts to beat the widely followed Russell 2000 Value Index.

Advisors and investors should expect that ACSV will not move in lockstep with that index. The American Century ETF holds 200 stocks compared to nearly 1,400 residing in passive ETFs tracking the Russell 2000 Value gauge. That doesn’t imply ACSV is sacrificing breadth without potential benefits to end users.

The ETF deploys “a well-established fundamental value equity investment philosophy that seeks to identify high-quality stocks offering attractive valuations,” according to American Century.

Assessing ACSV Advantages

The intersection of quality and value is important, particularly as it pertains to small-caps. That combination can help investors steer clear of value traps. That proposition is enhanced with active management. That’s relevant at time when there are concerns about how private credit issues could affect small-cap financial services stocks. But there’s good news on that front. This is potentially encouraging for ACSV investors; financials account for 34% of the ETF’s weight.

“So, while small cap banks are exposed to an industry-wide credit cycle, we believe they’re largely insulated from [any]deterioration in private credit markets as it relates to access to capital for our small cap companies,” notes BNP Paribas. “That was a pullback by private credit companies. It’s our view that there is still ample capital available.”

The current climate is conducive to owning small-caps. This thesis will  be fortified if the war in Iran draws to a close. All of this benefits ACSV.

“Clearly, we need to see a de-escalation in the conflict in Iran, but as we do, there are a number of tailwinds for small caps that could reemerge. These include open capital markets, healthy M&A (mergers & acquisitions) pipelines, improving industrial activity, strong domestic capex, and a resilient consumer,” adds BNP Paribas.

Betting on consolidation is a speculative exercise, but ACSV answers the call when it comes to confident consumers, resurgent industrial output and domestic capital expenditures because the ETF allocates a combined 38% of its weight to the industrial, energy and consumer cyclical sectors.