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Is SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF (SPYD) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Making its debut on 10/21/2015, smart beta exchange traded fund SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF (SPYD - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment.

Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.

If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.

Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.

The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.

Fund Sponsor & Index

The fund is sponsored by State Street Global Advisors. It has amassed assets over $4.67 billion, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Value. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the S&P 500 High Dividend Index before fees and expenses.

The S&P 500 High Dividend Index is designed to measure the performance of the top 80 dividend-paying securities listed on the S&P 500 Index, based on dividend yield.

Cost & Other Expenses

When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor. And, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins in the long term if all other factors remain equal.

Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.07% for SPYD, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

SPYD's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 4.81%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

SPYD's heaviest allocation is in the Financials sector, which is about 22.80% of the portfolio. Its Real Estate and Utilities round out the top three.

Taking into account individual holdings, Conocophillips (COP - Free Report) accounts for about 1.62% of the fund's total assets, followed by Seagate Technology Holdings Plc (STX - Free Report) and Iron Mountain Inc. (IRM - Free Report) .

Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 15.17% of SPYD's total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, SPYD return is roughly 25.57%, and was up about 47.41% in the last one year (as of 08/06/2021). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $26.58 and $42.51.

The fund has a beta of 1.12 and standard deviation of 28.42% for the trailing three-year period, which makes SPYD a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 79 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Value segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.

IShares Russell 1000 Value ETF (IWD - Free Report) tracks Russell 1000 Value Index and the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV - Free Report) tracks CRSP U.S. Large Cap Value Index. IShares Russell 1000 Value ETF has $54.17 billion in assets, Vanguard Value ETF has $82.80 billion. IWD has an expense ratio of 0.19% and VTV charges 0.04%.

Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - Large Cap Value.

Bottom Line

To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.

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