Wealth Enhancement Leans Into USVM for Structured Small and Mid Cap Exposure
Key Points
Bought 618,272 shares of USVM; estimated trade size $56.00 million (quarterly average price)
Quarter-end position value rose by $92.68 million, reflecting both purchases and price movement
Transaction represented approximately 0.08% change in 13F AUM
Post-trade holding: 8,775,986 shares worth $829.51 million
USVM now accounts for approximately 1.13% of fund AUM, placing it outside the fund's top five holdings
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What happened
According to its SEC filing dated January 8, 2026, WEALTH ENHANCEMENT ADVISORY SERVICES, LLC increased its position in VictoryShares US Small Mid Cap Value Momentum ETF (NASDAQ:USVM) by 618,272 shares. The holding sits among the firm’s larger ETF exposures, which indicates a deliberate allocation to factor-driven equity strategies rather than a passive residual holding.
What else to know
The fund bought more USVM, lifting the position to 1.125% of 13F AUM as of December 31, 2025.
Top holdings after the filing:
- IVV: $4.54 billion (6.6% of AUM)
- AVGO: $2.78 billion (4.0% of AUM)
- AGG: $1.96 billion (2.8% of AUM)
- SMTH: $1.45 billion (2.1% of AUM)
- MSFT: $1.44 billion (2.1% of AUM)
As of January 7, 2026, shares were priced at $93.81, up 13.52% over the past year, underperforming the S&P 500 by 2.96 percentage points.
USVM’s dividend yield stood at 1.78% as of January 8, 2026.
ETF overview
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| AUM | 1.18 billion |
| Price (as of market close 1/7/26) | $93.81 |
| Dividend yield | 1.84% |
| 1-year total return | 13.52% |
ETF snapshot
VictoryShares US Small Mid Cap Value Momentum ETF is designed to capture the performance of U.S. small- and mid-cap equities exhibiting strong value and momentum characteristics.
The ETF leverages a systematic, index-based approach to deliver diversified exposure while aiming to reduce volatility compared to traditional cap-weighted strategies. With a disciplined factor methodology and a focus on liquidity and investability, USVM offers institutional investors efficient access to targeted market segments within the U.S. equity landscape.
Its Investment strategy focuses on delivering exposure to U.S. small- and mid-cap equities with high value and momentum factors, seeking lower volatility and moderate turnover relative to traditional indexes.
The fund portfolio is constructed from the MSCI USA Small Cap Index, emphasizing securities with favorable value and momentum characteristics.
What this transaction means for investors
Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services’ latest 13F places the VictoryShares US Small Mid Cap Value Momentum ETF (USVM) in a deliberate role within an extensive and diversified portfolio. This move does not read as a short-term trade on small caps and reflects how professional allocators are choosing to access smaller U.S. companies while managing risk more carefully.
USVM is designed to sit between traditional small-cap exposure and more aggressive factor bets. Instead of following market capitalization, the fund applies a rules-based screen that favors smaller U.S. companies trading at attractive valuations while also exhibiting sustained price strength. Portfolio construction places guardrails around volatility, which tempers the tendency of small-cap strategies to become overly concentrated in the most volatile names. The result is exposure that leans selective rather than expansive, and systematic rather than thematic.
For investors, the takeaway is not about predicting the next move in small caps. It is about understanding how USVM behaves when markets shift. Performance relative to plain small-cap benchmarks during drawdowns and recoveries will matter more than short-term returns. When used correctly within a portfolio,USVM functions as a structured way to access smaller companies without fully embracing the extremes that often define the category.
Glossary
ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund): An investment fund traded on stock exchanges, holding a diversified portfolio of assets.
AUM (Assets Under Management): The total market value of assets a fund or investment manager oversees on behalf of clients.
13F AUM: The portion of a fund's assets reported in quarterly SEC filings, typically covering U.S. equity holdings.
Factor-based: An investment approach targeting securities with specific attributes, such as value or momentum, to enhance returns or manage risk.
Momentum: An investment factor focusing on securities that have recently outperformed, expecting the trend to continue.
Value (factor): An investment style favoring stocks considered undervalued relative to fundamentals like earnings or book value.
Quarter-end position: The number of shares or value of a holding at the end of a financial quarter.
Dividend yield: Annual dividends paid by a security as a percentage of its current price.
Total return: The investment's price change plus all dividends and distributions, assuming those payouts are reinvested.
Systematic, index-based approach: An investment strategy following predetermined rules to track or replicate a specific index.
Cap-weighted: An index or portfolio where each security's weight is proportional to its market capitalization.
Turnover: The rate at which assets in a fund are bought and sold within a given period.
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Eric Trie has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Microsoft. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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