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

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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market, the SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Growth ETF (SPYG - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 09/25/2000.

The fund is sponsored by State Street Global Advisors. It has amassed assets over $24.13 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.

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. Something to keep in mind is the higher level of volatility that is affiliated with growth stocks. Even though growth stocks are more likely to outperform their value counterparts in strong bull markets, value stocks have a record of delivering better returns in almost all markets than growth stocks.

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 0.96%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

ETFs offer a diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector--about 38.50% of the portfolio. Healthcare and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) accounts for about 13.02% of total assets, followed by Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) and Nvidia Corp (NVDA - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 58.16% 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 return is roughly 8.25% so far this year and it's up approximately 26.44% in the last one year (as of 05/01/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $54.88 and $73.73.

The ETF has a beta of 1.05 and standard deviation of 21.19% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 231 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 a great 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 $113.62 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $248.36 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.04% and QQQ charges 0.20%.

Bottom-Line

While an excellent vehicle for long term investors, passively managed ETFs are a popular choice among institutional and retail investors due to their low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency.

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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