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Is SPDR MSCI USA StrategicFactors ETF (QUS) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Making its debut on 04/15/2015, smart beta exchange traded fund SPDR MSCI USA StrategicFactors ETF (QUS - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend category of the market.
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.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.
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.
This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
Managed by State Street Global Advisors, QUS has amassed assets over $1.09 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the MSCI USA Factor Mix A-Series Index.
The MSCI USA Factor Mix A-Series Index measures the equity market performance of large and mid-cap companies across the U.S. equity market. It aims to represent the performance of a combination of three factors: value, quality, and low volatility.
Cost & Other Expenses
When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor. And, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins in the long term if all other factors remain equal.
Annual operating expenses for QUS are 0.15%, which makes it one of the cheaper products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 1.57%.
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.
Representing 24.80% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector; Healthcare and Financials round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 3% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) and Eli Lilly + Co (LLY - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 22.09% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added roughly 21.58% and it's up approximately 21.42% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 12/27/2023), respectively. QUS has traded between $109.16 and $132.06 during this last 52-week period.
QUS has a beta of 0.91 and standard deviation of 15.60% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 626 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
SPDR MSCI USA StrategicFactors 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 $387.93 billion in assets, SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $495.12 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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Is SPDR MSCI USA StrategicFactors ETF (QUS) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Making its debut on 04/15/2015, smart beta exchange traded fund SPDR MSCI USA StrategicFactors ETF (QUS - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend category of the market.
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.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.
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.
This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
Managed by State Street Global Advisors, QUS has amassed assets over $1.09 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the MSCI USA Factor Mix A-Series Index.
The MSCI USA Factor Mix A-Series Index measures the equity market performance of large and mid-cap companies across the U.S. equity market. It aims to represent the performance of a combination of three factors: value, quality, and low volatility.
Cost & Other Expenses
When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor. And, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins in the long term if all other factors remain equal.
Annual operating expenses for QUS are 0.15%, which makes it one of the cheaper products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 1.57%.
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.
Representing 24.80% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector; Healthcare and Financials round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 3% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) and Eli Lilly + Co (LLY - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 22.09% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added roughly 21.58% and it's up approximately 21.42% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 12/27/2023), respectively. QUS has traded between $109.16 and $132.06 during this last 52-week period.
QUS has a beta of 0.91 and standard deviation of 15.60% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 626 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
SPDR MSCI USA StrategicFactors 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 $387.93 billion in assets, SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $495.12 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.