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Is SPDR Russell 1000 Low Volatility Focus ETF (ONEV) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Making its debut on 12/02/2015, smart beta exchange traded fund SPDR Russell 1000 Low Volatility Focus ETF (ONEV - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.

Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.

On the other hand, some investors who believe that it is possible to beat the market by superior stock selection opt to invest in another class of funds that track non-cap weighted strategies--popularly known as smart beta.

Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.

The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.

Fund Sponsor & Index

The fund is sponsored by State Street Global Advisors. It has amassed assets over $594.46 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the Russell 1000 Low Volatility Focused Factor Index before fees and expenses.

The Russell 1000 Low Volatility Focused Factor Index reflects the performance of a segment of large-capitalization U.S. equity securities demonstrating a combination of core factors high value, high quality, and low size characteristics, with a focus factor comprising low volatility characteristics.

Cost & Other Expenses

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.

Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.20% for this ETF, which makes it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.89%.

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 in the Industrials sector - about 18.9% of the portfolio. Healthcare and Financials round out the top three.

Taking into account individual holdings, Cognizant Tech Solutions A (CTSH) accounts for about 1.5% of the fund's total assets, followed by Cardinal Health Inc (CAH) and Bristol Myers Squibb Co (BMY).

The top 10 holdings account for about 10.35% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, ONEV has added about 4.85%, and is up about 13.44% in the last one year (as of 07/09/2025). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $114.16 and $135.42.

The fund has a beta of 0.87 and standard deviation of 14.66% for the trailing three-year period. With about 431 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .

Alternatives

SPDR Russell 1000 Low Volatility Focus 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.

SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) tracks S&P 500 Index and the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) tracks S&P 500 Index. SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $640.1 billion in assets, Vanguard S&P 500 ETF has $684.91 billion. SPY has an expense ratio of 0.09% and VOO changes 0.03%.

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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