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Is SPDR Russell 1000 Momentum Focus ETF (ONEO) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.

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.

But, there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds; these funds track non-cap weighted strategies, and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market.

These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.

While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

Because the fund has amassed over $308.44 million, this makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. ONEO is managed by State Street Global Advisors. ONEO, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the Russell 1000 Momentum Focused Factor Index.

The Russell 1000 Momentum Focused Factor Index reflects the performance of a segment of large-capitalization U.S. equity securities demonstrating a combination of core factors with a focus factor comprising high momentum characteristics.

Cost & Other Expenses

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.

Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.20% for this ETF, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.

ONEO's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 1.65%.

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.

For ONEO, it has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector --about 16.70% of the portfolio --while Industrials and Financials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Hp Inc. (HPQ - Free Report) accounts for about 1.16% of total assets, followed by Nucor Corporation (NUE - Free Report) and Steel Dynamics Inc. (STLD - Free Report) .

ONEO's top 10 holdings account for about 7.02% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, ONEO has gained about 5.31%, and it's up approximately 0.77% in the last one year (as of 01/26/2023). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $82.11 and $102.87.

The fund has a beta of 1.07 and standard deviation of 26.55% for the trailing three-year period. With about 886 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

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

IShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV - Free Report) tracks S&P 500 Index and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY - Free Report) tracks S&P 500 Index. IShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $302.15 billion in assets, SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $375.25 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and SPY charges 0.09%.

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 Blend.

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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