Small cap companies have underperformed their large-cap peers in the past few years as most of them have struggled in a high-interest-rate environment. For example, the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq 100 have had total returns of over 72% in the last five years, while the Russell 2000 index has returned 57.8% in this period. Some analysts believe that small cap companies could do well in the coming months as interest rates reverse and as the US economy avoids a hard landing. These catalysts could push more investors to the Russell 2000 index, which tracks the biggest small-cap firms in the Unite…