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

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The SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF (SPLG - 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 Blend segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by State Street Global Advisors. It has amassed assets over $58.49 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Blend

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.

Blend ETFs usually hold a mix of growth and value stocks as well as stocks that exhibit both value and growth characteristics.

Costs

Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts, other things remaining the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.02%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.25%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector--about 31.70% of the portfolio. Financials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 6.83% of total assets, followed by Nvidia Corp (NVDA - Free Report) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 36.06% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

SPLG seeks to match the performance of the Russell 1000 Index before fees and expenses. The S&P 500 Index is designed to measure the performance of the large-capitalization segment of the U.S. equity market.

The ETF has added about 1.91% so far this year and it's up approximately 19.12% in the last one year (as of 02/25/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $58.24 and $72.10.

The ETF has a beta of 1 and standard deviation of 16.88% for the trailing three-year period. With about 507 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, SPLG is a great option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO - Free Report) and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY - Free Report) track a similar index. While Vanguard S&P 500 ETF has $618.58 billion in assets, SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $622.06 billion. VOO has an expense ratio of 0.03% and SPY charges 0.09%.

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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