Data sourced from Dakota Marketplace, the global LP and GP intelligence platform trusted by thousands of investment professionals. Learn More | Book a Demo
Every quarter, institutional investment managers with $100 million or more in 13(f) securities report their holdings to the SEC (SEC Form 13F FAQ). The filings are public but not built for prospecting: each is one firm's list of issuer names, share counts and values, with no asset class tags and no quarter-over-quarter comparison. Finding which RIAs hold a given ETF means pulling filings firm by firm and doing the matching yourself.
Dakota Marketplace does that work for you. Its 13F tab holds 2,621,000+ holdings, including 938,000+ ETF positions, searchable by ticker, asset class and product structure, with Status fields that flag each position as New, Increased, Decreased or Sold-Out versus last quarter.
We used that data to find which US small cap ETFs the most RIAs actually own. iShares Core S&P Small-Cap (IJR) leads with 148 RIAs for the quarter ending December 31, 2025, followed by iShares Russell 2000 (IWM) at 128 and Vanguard Small-Cap (VB) at 116. RIAs have held on even as the broader market pulled back: US small cap ETFs lost $19.2 billion to outflows in 2025 through mid-August, putting them on pace for their worst year on record (etf.com, August 2025).
In this article, we’ll rank the 10 US small cap ETFs held by the most RIAs, show where the dollars concentrate, and break down what a value-tilted small cap sleeve means for managers selling small cap strategies.
The Top 10 US Small Cap ETFs Held by RIAs
Ranked by the number of distinct RIAs reporting a position in 13F filings for the quarter ending December 31, 2025.
|
Rank
|
Ticker
|
ETF
|
Category
|
RIA holdings
|
|
1
|
IJR
|
iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF
|
Small cap blend
|
148
|
|
2
|
IWM
|
iShares Russell 2000 ETF
|
Small cap blend
|
128
|
|
3
|
VB
|
Vanguard Small-Cap ETF
|
Small cap blend
|
116
|
|
4
|
VBR
|
Vanguard Small-Cap Value ETF
|
Small cap blend
|
103
|
|
5
|
SCHA
|
Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF
|
Small cap blend
|
68
|
|
6
|
AVUV
|
Avantis U.S. Small Cap Value ETF
|
Small cap value (active)
|
66
|
|
7
|
DFAS
|
Dimensional U.S. Small Cap ETF
|
Small cap value (active)
|
61
|
|
8
|
VBK
|
Vanguard Small-Cap Growth ETF
|
Small cap growth
|
61
|
|
9
|
DFAT
|
Dimensional U.S. Targeted Value ETF
|
Small and mid cap value (active)
|
54
|
|
10
|
IWN
|
iShares Russell 2000 Value ETF
|
Small cap value
|
50
|
Source: Dakota Marketplace 13F holdings data, quarter ending December 31, 2025. DFAS and VBK tie at 61 RIAs and are ordered by RIA dollars held.
What the Ranking Shows
1. Three Index Funds Anchor the Category (IJR, IWM and VB)
The top three slots go to broad small cap index funds tracking three different benchmarks: the S&P SmallCap 600, the Russell 2000 and the CRSP US Small Cap index. Of the 217 RIAs holding at least one of the three, 125 hold two or more and 50 hold all three.
The index choice matters more here than in large cap. The S&P SmallCap 600 requires companies to show positive earnings before they can join, while the Russell 2000 does not. IJR’s lead over IWM suggests many RIAs prefer that quality screen in a segment full of unprofitable companies. In total, 273 RIAs hold at least one US small cap ETF.
2. RIAs Tilt Hard Toward Value (195 RIAs, Nearly 6x the Dollars)
Four of the top 10 funds are value funds: VBR, AVUV, DFAT and IWN. Across the category, 195 RIAs hold a small cap value ETF with $2.4B in holdings, compared with 120 RIAs and $410M in small cap growth ETFs. 101 RIAs hold both.
That is a sharp contrast with large cap, where RIAs split growth and value almost evenly. In small cap, RIAs put close to six dollars into value for every dollar in growth.
3. Avantis and Dimensional Own the Value Tilt (113 RIAs)
Three of the top 10 funds come from Avantis and Dimensional: AVUV, DFAS and DFAT. Across all their small cap funds, 113 RIAs hold $1.9B, about 34% of RIA small cap ETF dollars.
These funds go beyond a plain value screen, tilting toward smaller, cheaper and more profitable companies. For many RIAs, they are the main way to get small cap value exposure.
Want to see which RIAs in your territory hold these funds? Book a demo of Dakota Marketplace.
Breadth vs. Dollars: Where RIA Assets Concentrate
The ETFs held by the most RIAs are not always the ones holding the most RIA money. RIAs reported $5.5B in US small cap ETF holdings for the quarter ending December 31, 2025, and the top 10 funds account for $4.1B of it, about 75%.
|
Ticker
|
ETF
|
RIA holding
|
RIA holdings
|
|
IJR
|
iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF
|
148
|
$821M
|
|
DFAT
|
Dimensional U.S. Targeted Value ETF
|
54
|
$755M
|
|
AVUV
|
Avantis U.S. Small Cap Value ETF
|
66
|
$496M
|
|
VB
|
Vanguard Small-Cap ETF
|
116
|
$487M
|
|
VBR
|
Vanguard Small-Cap Value ETF
|
103
|
$463M
|
|
IWM
|
iShares Russell 2000 ETF
|
128
|
$405M
|
Dimensional U.S. Targeted Value (DFAT) ranks ninth by holders but second by dollars. The average RIA position is $14.0M, far above IJR’s $5.5M. Avantis U.S. Small Cap Value (AVUV) averages $7.5M.
IWM goes the other way. It ranks second by holders, but its average position is just $3.2M, the smallest among the top three. Many RIAs appear to use it as a trading or tactical position rather than a core holding.
Source: Dakota Marketplace 13F holdings data, quarter ending December 31, 2025.
What This Means for Investment Firms Pitching RIAs
RIAs that own small caps mostly own them through index funds and value-tilted systematic funds. Every active small cap manager is competing with that combination.
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Pitch against the core, not instead of it. An RIA holding IJR or VB is unlikely to sell it. Show how your strategy fits beside a passive small cap position: a different quality screen, a micro cap or SMID cap sleeve, or an active return driver the index does not offer.
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Lead with value, or explain why growth. With 195 RIAs in small cap value and only 120 in growth, small cap value managers start with the bigger audience. Growth managers need a clear case for why the RIA should add a sleeve it has mostly skipped.
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Find the Avantis and Dimensional firms. The 113 RIAs holding Avantis and Dimensional small cap funds write large tickets to systematic value. They are the first call for factor and quant small cap managers, and a tough benchmark for traditional active ones.
-
Use IWM holders to spot tactical buyers. Smaller average positions in IWM suggest many RIAs use it to adjust exposure quickly. Those firms may be open to a more deliberate, long-term small cap allocation.
Turn 13F Holdings Into a Prospect List
Every number in this post came from the 13F tab in Dakota Marketplace. Members filter 2,621,000+ holdings by account name, investment strategy, ticker, asset class, sub-asset class, product structure, fund balance range and filing period, and switch between a By Investor and a By Fund view.
Seven new fields make the data faster to act on:
- Quarter-over-quarter change on any holding: Previous No. of Shares, Previous Quarter Value and Status (New, Increased, Decreased, Equal Shares or Sold-Out) show who is adding or trimming a position, with no filing to open and no math to do.
- ETF exposure on every account: ETF AUM, ETF AUM %, Active ETF AUM and Passive ETF AUM answer "does this RIA use ETFs, and how much?" right on the account page.
That gives investment firms three ways to build a sharper list:
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Find who holds a competitor's fund. Search a ticker and pull every firm reporting it.
-
Spot momentum. Filter by Status to see which RIAs bought or added to a position last quarter, and which sold out.
-
Target real holdings, not stated mandates. An RIA that leans active in its ETF book is a very different conversation than one that runs almost entirely passive.
Members can now build and save their own 13F lists with Create a List and My Lists, then export any list to Excel to share or print.
Find the RIAs Behind the Holdings
Dakota Marketplace tracks 8,700+ RIAs and 48,300+ RIA contacts, with 13F holdings attached to each firm profile. Filter by ETF ticker or asset class held, by RIA AUM, by metro area, or by decision-maker title such as CIO or portfolio manager.
Book a demo of Dakota Marketplace to know what an RIA already owns before you pitch what it should add.
