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Is SPDR Russell 1000 Yield Focus ETF (ONEY) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value category of the market, the SPDR Russell 1000 Yield Focus ETF (ONEY - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 12/02/2015.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.

A good option for investors who believe in market efficiency, market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns.

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.

By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.

Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

The fund is managed by State Street Global Advisors, and has been able to amass over $776.03 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Value. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the Russell 1000 Yield Focused Factor Index before fees and expenses.

The Russell 1000 Yield Focused Factor Index reflects the performance of a segment of large-capitalization U.S. equity securities demonstrating a combination of core factors high value, high quality, and low size characteristics, with a focus factor comprising high yield characteristics.

Cost & Other Expenses

Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long-term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins, other things remaining the same.

Annual operating expenses for ONEY are 0.20%, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.

The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.36%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

For ONEY, it has heaviest allocation in the Financials sector --about 19.20% of the portfolio --while Consumer Staples and Materials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Hp Inc. (HPQ - Free Report) accounts for about 2.23% of total assets, followed by Progressive Corporation (PGR - Free Report) and Kroger Co. (KR - Free Report) .

ONEY's top 10 holdings account for about 13.4% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, ONEY has lost about -0.66%, and is up about 6.68% in the last one year (as of 05/06/2022). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $92.10 and $104.60.

The ETF has a beta of 1.11 and standard deviation of 28.13% for the trailing three-year period. With about 278 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

SPDR Russell 1000 Yield Focus ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Value segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

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 $54.32 billion in assets, Vanguard Value ETF has $99.01 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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