What this ETF is trying to do

The BUSHIDO CAPITAL US EQUITY ETF (SMRI) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that invests in various stocks from companies based in the United States. Its goal is to give investors exposure to a broad mix of U.S. equity markets through a single investment.

What the numbers show

To understand how this ETF has performed, it is helpful to look at two different types of measurements: price return and total return.

Price return only measures the change in the share price of the ETF. Total return measures the overall performance, which includes both the share-price changes and any distributions (like cash payments) paid out by the fund.

Here is how SMRI has performed based on the supplied data:

• Year to Date (YTD): The price return is approximately 29.46%, while the total return is approximately 29.80%.

• One-Year Period: The share-price change (price return) was about 36.07%. The overall measure (total return) was about 37.52%.

• Three-Year Period: The price return was approximately 91.26%, and the total return was approximately 97.30%.

The current price of SMRI is $46.79. For comparison, the estimated price from roughly one year ago was $34.39.

Income and distribution explanation

This ETF provides cash distributions to its investors. The distribution yield is approximately 0.81%, which describes the amount of cash paid out relative to the current share price. Over the last 12 months, there were 4 payouts, which usually happen on a quarterly basis. The trailing distribution was about $0.38 per share.

It is important for new investors to know that while these distributions provide cash income, they do not guarantee that the original money invested (the principal) will stay the same. A high distribution yield does not automatically mean an investor earned that full percentage as their total return.

NAV erosion explanation

NAV erosion is a term used to describe when the value of the underlying assets in an ETF drops over time. StockValueFinder uses an erosion score and a "severe erosion-risk flag" to measure this risk.

For SMRI, the erosion score is 100, and the label states "No price erosion detected." Additionally, there is no severe erosion-risk flag for this fund. This means that based on these specific measurements, there has not been a significant drop in the value of the assets held by the ETF.

Pros

• The fund has shown strong positive price returns over both one-year and three-year periods.

• It currently shows no detected price erosion according to StockValueFinder's measurements.

• It holds several well-known companies, including Salesforce Inc (2.77%), Workday Inc Class A (2.82%), and Adobe Inc (2.45%).

Cons

• The distribution yield is relatively low at 0.81%.

• Like all equity investments, the share price can go up or down based on market conditions.

Beginner takeaway

SMRI has shown significant growth in both its share price and its total return over the last one to three years. While it pays out a small amount of cash income every few months, most of its performance comes from the increase in the value of the stocks it holds. Investors should look at both the price return and the total return to get a full picture of how the fund is moving.