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Should Invesco S&P 500 GARP ETF (SPGP) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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Launched on 06/17/2011, the Invesco S&P 500 GARP ETF (SPGP - 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 Invesco. It has amassed assets over $3.93 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Growth

Companies that fall in the large cap category tend to 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.

Growth stocks have higher than average sales and earnings growth rates. While these are expected to grow faster than the broader market, they also have higher valuations. Additionally, growth stocks have a greater level of risk associated with them. When you consider growth versus value, growth stocks are usually the clear winner in strong bull markets but tend to fall flat in nearly all other environments.

Costs

When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts in the long term if all other factors remain equal.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.36%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.33%.

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.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Energy sector--about 23% of the portfolio. Financials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Nvidia Corp (NVDA - Free Report) accounts for about 2.52% of total assets, followed by Eog Resources Inc (EOG - Free Report) and Valero Energy Corp (VLO - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 21.23% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

SPGP seeks to match the performance of the S&P 500 GROWTH AT A REASONABLE PRICE IDX before fees and expenses. The S&P 500 Growth at a Reasonable Price Index is composed of securities with strong growth characteristics selected from the Russell Top 200 Index.

The ETF return is roughly 3.32% so far this year and it's up approximately 14.72% in the last one year (as of 02/03/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $95.89 and $112.52.

The ETF has a beta of 1.08 and standard deviation of 18.26% for the trailing three-year period. With about 77 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Invesco S&P 500 GARP ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, SPGP is a sufficient option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Growth area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG - Free Report) and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ - Free Report) track a similar index. While Vanguard Growth ETF has $159.54 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $331.15 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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