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Should SPDR S&P Dividend ETF (SDY) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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The SPDR S&P Dividend ETF (SDY - Free Report) was launched on 11/08/2005, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Large Cap Value segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by State Street Global Advisors. It has amassed assets over $19.95 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Value segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Value

Companies that fall in the large cap category tend to 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 value stocks have lower than average price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios, they also have lower than average sales and earnings growth rates. Considering long-term performance, value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in almost all markets; however, they are more likely to underperform growth stocks in strong bull markets.

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 0.35%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.73%.

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 Industrials sector--about 22.50% of the portfolio. Consumer Staples and Financials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, 3m Co W/d (MMM - Free Report) accounts for about 2.83% of total assets, followed by Intl Business Machines Corp (IBM - Free Report) and Abbvie Inc (ABBV - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 22.01% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

SDY seeks to match the performance of the S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index before fees and expenses. The S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index measures the performance of the highest dividend yielding S&P Composite 1500 Index constituents that have followed a managed-dividends policy of consistently increasing dividends every year for at least 20 consecutive years.

The ETF has lost about -4.05% so far this year and is down about -5.83% in the last one year (as of 11/16/2023). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $110.20 and $132.18.

The ETF has a beta of 0.87 and standard deviation of 15.57% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 124 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

SPDR S&P Dividend 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, SDY is an excellent option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF (IWD - Free Report) and the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF has $49.72 billion in assets, Vanguard Value ETF has $99.15 billion. IWD has an expense ratio of 0.19% and VTV charges 0.04%.

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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