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Should State Street SPDR S&P 400 Mid Cap Growth ETF (MDYG) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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If you're interested in broad exposure to the Mid Cap Growth segment of the US equity market, look no further than the State Street SPDR S&P 400 Mid Cap Growth ETF (MDYG - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on November 8, 2005.

The fund is sponsored by State Street Investment Management. It has amassed assets over $2.44 billion, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Mid Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

Why Mid Cap Growth

With market capitalization between $2 billion and $10 billion, mid cap companies usually contain higher growth prospects than large cap companies, and are considered less risky than their small cap counterparts. These types of companies, then, have a good balance of stability and growth potential.

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

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

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.15%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.77%.

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 Industrials sector -- about 29.7% of the portfolio. Information Technology and Financials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Comfort Systems Usa Inc (FIX) accounts for about 1.78% of total assets, followed by Pure Storage Inc Class A (PSTG) and Curtiss Wright Corp (CW).

The top 10 holdings account for about 12.8% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

MDYG seeks to match the performance of the S&P MidCap 400 Growth Index before fees and expenses. The S&P MidCap 400 Growth Index measures the performance of the mid-capitalization growth sector in the U.S. equity market.

The ETF has added about 7.32% so far this year and is down about 0.74% in the last one year (as of 12/01/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $70.44 and $94.33.

The ETF has a beta of 1.10 and standard deviation of 18.38% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 249 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

State Street SPDR S&P 400 Mid Cap 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, MDYG is an excellent option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Mid Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth ETF (VOT) and the iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF (IWP) track a similar index. While Vanguard Mid-Cap Growth ETF has $17.85 billion in assets, iShares Russell Mid-Cap Growth ETF has $20.02 billion. VOT has an expense ratio of 0.07% and IWP charges 0.23%.

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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