Investing Ideas

The case for owning small cap U.S. stocks

Why this differentiated asst class could be helpful in the investment mix.

By: Forrest St. Clair Benjamin Treacy
Updated: 7/14/2025
Key Takeaways
  • Since 1929, the performance of large cap U.S. stocks versus small caps has run in cycles lasting about seven years, on average, making the current cycle of U.S. large cap outperformance an outlier.
  • Valuations for U.S. small caps are in their cheapest quintile since 1990, which has increased the historical odds of U.S. small caps outperforming large caps over the next 5 to 10 years.
  • A Fidelity study concludes that active management has tended to work for small cap U.S. stock investors, partly because it has been a less efficient asset class than large caps, to the benefit of stock selection.
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