The Micro-Cap Index Landscape: Seven Benchmarks Every Investor Should Know

There actually aren't as many dedicated micro-cap indexes as people think. Most index providers focus on small-cap, while relatively few maintain true micro-cap benchmarks. If you're trying to track the micro-cap universe — or invest in it — you're working with a surprisingly short list.

Here's the definitive breakdown of the seven benchmarks that actually matter, what they cover, and how they differ.

United States

1. Russell Microcap Index — The Gold Standard

Provider: FTSE Russell

This is probably the most widely followed micro-cap benchmark in the world. It includes roughly 1,200 to 1,400 companies — the smallest from the Russell universe — and is tracked by the iShares Micro-Cap ETF (IWC). Most institutional investors use this as the primary U.S. micro-cap benchmark. If someone says "the micro-cap index" without specifying which one, they probably mean Russell.

2. Dow Jones Select Micro-Cap Index

Provider: S&P Dow Jones

Unlike the Russell index, which is largely rules-based by market cap, this one screens for liquidity, financial strength, and fundamental quality. It is designed to avoid many of the weakest micro-cap companies — the shells, the zombies, the barely-breathing penny stocks that drag on cap-weighted performance. Think of it as Russell with a quality filter.

3. MSCI USA Micro Cap Index

Provider: MSCI

Used primarily by pension funds, institutional investors, and international asset managers. It covers the U.S. micro-cap segment using MSCI's global methodology, which makes it particularly useful for investors who already use MSCI across other asset classes and want consistency in their framework.

Canada

4. S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index — The De Facto Benchmark

Canada doesn't really have one dedicated "micro-cap index." Instead, investors use the S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index — and it functions as Canada's micro-cap benchmark in practice.

It contains junior mining, biotech, technology, energy, and early-stage companies. Most constituents would qualify as micro-caps by any definition. This is the benchmark almost every Canadian micro-cap investor follows, and it's one of the most volatile equity indexes in the world — reflecting the high-risk, high-reward nature of the companies it tracks.

Global

There are very few pure global micro-cap indexes. Instead, index providers create "micro-cap" versions inside larger index families. Two of the most important come from MSCI.

5. MSCI World Micro Cap Index

Covers micro-cap companies across developed markets. Institutional investors frequently use it for international micro-cap exposure without dipping into emerging markets. It's the cleanest way to track micro-caps across the developed world.

6. MSCI ACWI Micro Cap Index

Includes the United States, Europe, Japan, Canada, Australia, and emerging markets. This is one of the broadest global micro-cap benchmarks available — it captures the full investable micro-cap universe across both developed and emerging markets.

7. FTSE Global Total Cap Index

Not a pure micro-cap index. However, it includes large caps, mid caps, small caps, and micro caps — making it one of the broadest investable equity universes in existence. Investors use it when they want total market coverage with micro-caps included, rather than as a dedicated micro-cap tool.

How They Compare

The key differences come down to three things:

Inclusion criteria. Russell is market-cap driven and includes everything that qualifies. Dow Jones Select adds quality screens. MSCI applies its global methodology consistently across regions.

Geographic scope. Russell, Dow Jones Select, and MSCI USA cover the U.S. only. The S&P/TSX Venture covers Canada. MSCI World covers developed markets. MSCI ACWI adds emerging markets. FTSE Global Total Cap covers everything.

Constituent quality. The Russell Microcap Index will include companies that the Dow Jones Select won't — shell companies, near-bankrupt firms, low-liquidity names. That's not necessarily a flaw; it depends on what you're trying to measure. If you want the raw micro-cap universe, Russell gives you the full picture. If you want investable quality, Dow Jones Select filters out the noise.

Why This Matters

Micro-cap investing is about finding companies that are too small for institutional money to care about yet. The index you choose as your benchmark determines what "the market" looks like to you — and by extension, what counts as outperformance.

If your benchmark is Russell, you're measured against the full micro-cap universe, warts and all. If your benchmark is Dow Jones Select, you're measured against a filtered, higher-quality subset. Those are fundamentally different games.

Understanding which index you're tracking — and what it does and doesn't include — is the first step in micro-cap investing. Most people skip it. You shouldn't.

Todd Colpron is the Managing Partner of Eliakim Capital, a private investment and strategic advisory firm that manages its own capital while working alongside select family offices and private investors to identify and support exceptional opportunities.