Key Highlights

• Management fee of 0.39% per annum; fund size of $388.85 million; 59 holdings tracking the Nasdaq Australia Small Cap Select Index

• Top 10 holdings at 40.43% include Cleanaway Waste, Ansell, Bank of Queensland, AMP, and Zip Co

• Sector weights: Industrials 21.52%, Financial Services 21.11%, Basic Materials 17.88%, Consumer Cyclical 11.68%

The BetaShares Australian Small Companies Select ETF (ASX:SMLL) provides investors with passive exposure to the Australian mid and small-cap Equity segment through the Nasdaq Australia Small Cap Select Total Return AUD Index. Listed on 11 April 2017, SMLL has accumulated $388.85 million in Assets with 85.65 million units outstanding, representing a meaningful-scale product within the Australian small-cap ETF space. The fund applies full replication, investing in all index constituents in proportion to their index weightings, and targets companies in the bottom 30% of the Capitalisation of the Australian equities market — a segment that historically exhibits different return and Volatility characteristics than large-cap benchmarks.

Index and Screening Methodology

SMLL tracks the Nasdaq Australia Small Cap Select Total Return AUD Index, a benchmark that applies a selection and quality screen to the Australian small-cap universe rather than simply capturing all small-cap stocks by market weight. The "Select" designation in the index name indicates that the index employs criteria beyond pure market capitalisation, potentially including Liquidity filters, profitability screens, or quality characteristics, to identify a subset of the broader small-cap market. With 59 holdings, the index is relatively concentrated compared to some small-cap benchmarks, reflecting the application of these selection criteria to narrow the investable universe. The full replication strategy means that all 59 index constituents are held in the fund at their index weights.

Portfolio Composition and Sector Exposure

SMLL holds 59 companies, with the top 10 accounting for 40.43% of the fund — a relatively high concentration for a small-cap product. The leading positions include Cleanaway Waste Management at 4.83%, Ansell at 4.72%, Bank of Queensland at 4.30%, Amp at 4.22%, Zip Co at 3.93%, The a2 Milk Co at 3.88%, AUB Group at 3.87%, Eagers Automotive at 3.86%, NRW Holdings at 3.40%, and Metcash at 3.35%. Sector allocation reflects the diversity of the Australian small-cap market: Industrials at 21.52% (above the category average of 15.60%), Financial Services at 21.11% (well above the category average of 12.99%), Basic Materials at 17.88%, Consumer Cyclical at 11.68%, Consumer Defensive at 9.52% (materially above the category average of 3.22%), Healthcare at 7.71%, Energy at 4.78%, Communication Services at 3.14%, Real Estate at 1.60%, and Technology at 1.07% (markedly below the category average of 13.21%). The significantly underweight Technology allocation relative to the category peer group is a notable structural characteristic of SMLL's index construction. Geographic exposure is 94.09% Australian, with China at 3.88% and the United States at 2.03%.

Distribution Profile

SMLL distributes income on a semi-annual basis. The most recent distribution was $0.078 per unit for July 2026, up from $0.052 in January 2026, $0.053 in July 2025, $0.052 in January 2025, and $0.048 in July 2024. The gradual upward trend in distributions from $0.048 (July 2024) to $0.078 (July 2026) reflects the incremental growth in Dividend income from the underlying small-cap portfolio over the period. The annualised Yield is reported at 0.00% in the available data, suggesting the figure has not been updated to reflect the most recent payment, and the fund's primary return driver is capital appreciation rather than income — consistent with the small-cap equity asset class.

Risk Metrics and Total Returns

SMLL carries a Beta of 1.07 relative to the broad market and a Standard Deviation of 18.18, confirming the elevated volatility characteristic of small-cap equity exposure. The 52-week trading range of $3.99 to $5.06 — a spread of approximately 27% from trough to peak — underlines the meaningful price variability investors must accept.