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Is SPDR Russell 1000 Yield Focus ETF (ONEY) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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The SPDR Russell 1000 Yield Focus ETF (ONEY - Free Report) was launched on 12/02/2015, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.

Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.

However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: 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.

While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

Because the fund has amassed over $897.86 million, this makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Value. ONEY is managed by State Street Investment Management. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the Russell 1000 Yield Focused Factor Index.

The Russell 1000 Yield 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 high yield characteristics.

Cost & Other Expenses

Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.

Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.20% for ONEY, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.

ONEY's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 3.01%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

For ONEY, it has heaviest allocation in the Consumer Staples sector --about 13.5% of the portfolio --while Consumer Discretionary and Industrials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, United Parcel Service Cl B (UPS) accounts for about 2.1% of total assets, followed by Target Corp (TGT) and Eog Resources Inc (EOG).

The top 10 holdings account for about 13.74% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, ONEY has added about 7.75%, and was up about 9.85% in the last one year (as of 09/12/2025). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $95.52 and $117.55.

The fund has a beta of 0.96 and standard deviation of 16.39% for the trailing three-year period. With about 310 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .

Alternatives

SPDR Russell 1000 Yield Focus ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Value segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.

Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index and the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV) tracks CRSP U.S. Large Cap Value Index. Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF has $72.28 billion in assets, Vanguard Value ETF has $147.14 billion. SCHD has an expense ratio of 0.06% and VTV changes 0.04%.

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 Value

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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