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

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If you're interested in broad exposure to the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market, look no further than the State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF (SPYM - 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 $104.06 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

Large cap companies typically 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

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 0.02%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.12%.

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 Information Technology sector -- about 33.5% of the portfolio. Financials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Nvidia Corp (NVDA) accounts for about 7.6% of total assets, followed by Apple Inc (AAPL) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT).

The top 10 holdings account for about 38.54% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

SPYM seeks to match the performance of the S&P 500 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 gained about 1.1% so far this year. In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $27.34 and $81.80.

The ETF has a beta of 1.00 and standard deviation of 215.66% for the trailing three-year period. With about 507 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 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, SPYM 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 iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) and the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) track a similar index. While iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $761.06 billion in assets, Vanguard S&P 500 ETF has $847.63 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and VOO charges 0.03%.

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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