The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that over the past 10 years, investors did far better with blue chips than with small caps. The Globe's Rob Carrick writes that until global economic growth moves sustainably higher, this trend is likely to continue. In the 10 years to May 31, the S&P/TSX small-cap index delivered a compound average annual total return of 0.5 per cent while the S&P/TSX 60 index made 4.1 per cent. In the 12 months to May 31, the small-cap index made 8.7 per cent and the 60 index gained 13.6 per cent. The first five months of the year have seen the market cool off, but the 60 index still managed a 1.8-per-cent gain over this period. The small-cap index lost 4.6 per cent. Here is another perspective on what a drag small caps have been. The Vanguard FTSE Canada All Cap Index ETF (VCN) includes small and medium stocks as well as large caps, while the Vanguard FTSE Canada Index ETF (VCE) skews to larger stocks. The theory behind the all-cap index is that it should outperform thanks to its small-cap component, but that is not happening. VCE averaged 5.1 per cent over the past three years, compared with 4.4 per cent for VCN. Small caps have suffered from weak resource prices.