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Should SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Growth ETF (SPYG) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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The SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Growth ETF (SPYG - Free Report) was launched on 09/25/2000, 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 State Street Global Advisors. It has amassed assets over $23.59 billion, making it one of the largest 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. They tend to be stable companies with predictable cash flows and are usually less volatile than mid and small cap companies.

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. Additionally, growth stocks have a greater level of risk associated with them. Compared to value stocks, growth stocks are a safer bet in a strong bull market, but don't perform as strongly in almost all other financial environments.

Costs

Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.04%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.05%.

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.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector--about 39.10% of the portfolio. Healthcare and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 13.58% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) and Nvidia Corp (NVDA - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 45.78% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

SPYG seeks to match the performance of the S&P 500 Growth Index before fees and expenses. The S&P 500 Growth Index measures the performance of the large-capitalization growth sector in the U.S. equity market.

The ETF has gained about 9.44% so far this year and is up roughly 37.12% in the last one year (as of 02/29/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $51.48 and $71.64.

The ETF has a beta of 1.04 and standard deviation of 21.35% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 240 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Growth ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, SPYG is an outstanding option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG - Free Report) and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ - Free Report) track a similar index. While Vanguard Growth ETF has $114.13 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $248.52 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.04% and QQQ charges 0.20%.

Bottom-Line

An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they 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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