What to consider before investing in small-cap indexes

Small-cap index trackers show why your choice of benchmark can make a large difference to long-term returns

Small-cap indexes
(Image credit: Getty Images)

The small-cap effect is more inconsistent than many investors assume. Smaller stocks have beaten larger ones over decades, but they have oscillated between long spells of outperformance and underperformance. 

In recent years, they have seen a long streak of underperformance. That doesn’t mean that we should ignore small caps, but we should think about whether this is likely to persist and why. 

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Cris Sholto Heaton

Cris Sholto Heaton is an investment analyst and writer who has been contributing to MoneyWeek since 2006 and was managing editor of the magazine between 2016 and 2018. He is especially interested in international investing, believing many investors still focus too much on their home markets and that it pays to take advantage of all the opportunities the world offers. He often writes about Asian equities, international income and global asset allocation.

Cris began his career in financial services consultancy at PwC and Lane Clark & Peacock, before an abrupt change of direction into oil, gas and energy at Petroleum Economist and Platts and subsequently into investment research and writing. In addition to his articles for MoneyWeek, he also works with a number of asset managers, consultancies and financial information providers.

He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and the Investment Management Certificate, as well as degrees in finance and mathematics. He has also studied acting, film-making and photography, and strongly suspects that an awareness of what makes a compelling story is just as important for understanding markets as any amount of qualifications.