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Should Invesco S&P 500 GARP ETF (SPGP) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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The Invesco S&P 500 GARP ETF (SPGP - Free Report) was launched on 06/17/2011, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by Invesco. It has amassed assets over $3.35 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Growth

Large cap companies typically have a market capitalization above $10 billion. Considered a more stable option, large cap companies boast more predictable cash flows and are less volatile than their mid and small cap counterparts.

While growth stocks do boast higher than average sales and earnings growth rates, and they are expected to grow faster than the wider market, investors should note these kinds of stocks have higher valuations. Something to keep in mind is the higher level of volatility that is affiliated with growth stocks. They are likely to outperform value stocks in strong bull markets but over the longer-term, value stocks have delivered better returns than growth stocks in almost all markets.

Costs

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 counterparts, other things remaining the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.33%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.08%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Energy sector--about 26.80% of the portfolio. Information Technology and Materials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Marathon Petroleum Corp (MPC - Free Report) accounts for about 2.21% of total assets, followed by Diamondback Energy Inc (FANG - Free Report) and Cf Industries Holdings Inc (CF - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 19.88% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

SPGP seeks to match the performance of the S&P 500 GROWTH AT A REASONABLE PRICE IDX before fees and expenses. The S&P 500 Growth at a Reasonable Price Index is composed of securities with strong growth characteristics selected from the Russell Top 200 Index.

The ETF return is roughly 14.57% so far this year and it's up approximately 12.96% in the last one year (as of 09/11/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $74.83 and $96.18.

The ETF has a beta of 1.11 and standard deviation of 19.02% for the trailing three-year period. With about 77 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Invesco S&P 500 GARP ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, SPGP is a sufficient option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Growth area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG - Free Report) and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ - Free Report) track a similar index. While Vanguard Growth ETF has $93.12 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $204.79 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.04% and QQQ charges 0.20%.

Bottom-Line

Retail and institutional investors increasingly turn to passively managed ETFs because they offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; these kind of funds are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.

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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