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

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Launched on 09/25/2000, the SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Growth ETF (SPYG - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a 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 $16.02 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 usually have a market capitalization above $10 billion. Overall, they are usually a stable option, with less risk and more sure-fire cash flows than mid and small cap companies.

Qualities of growth stocks include faster growth rates compared to the broader market, as well as higher valuations and higher than average sales and earnings growth rates. Further, growth stocks have a higher level of volatility associated with them. 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

Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.

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 0.64%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, 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 43.60% of the portfolio. Consumer Discretionary and Telecom round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Microsoft Corporation (MSFT - Free Report) accounts for about 11.56% of total assets, followed by Apple Inc. (AAPL - Free Report) and Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 51.15% 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 lost about -4.11% so far this year and is up about 27.22% in the last one year (as of 01/12/2022). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $53.23 and $73.48.

The ETF has a beta of 0.99 and standard deviation of 23.29% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 244 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 excellent 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 $86.36 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $209.02 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.04% and QQQ charges 0.20%.

Bottom-Line

Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are 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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