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

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A smart beta exchange traded fund, the State Street SPDR Russell 1000 Low Volatility Focus ETF (ONEV - Free Report) debuted on 12/02/2015, and offers broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.

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

But, there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds; these funds track non-cap weighted strategies, and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market.

This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix of such characteristics.

This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

Managed by State Street Investment Management, ONEV has amassed assets over $536.14 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. ONEV 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

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 cousins, other things remaining the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.20%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

ONEV's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 1.79%.

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.

ONEV's heaviest allocation is in the Industrials sector, which is about 21% of the portfolio. Its Healthcare and Financials round out the top three.

When you look at individual holdings, Cardinal Health Inc (CAH) accounts for about 1.78% of the fund's total assets, followed by Cencora Inc (COR) and Mckesson Corp (MCK).

ONEV's top 10 holdings account for about 9.7% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, ONEV has added about 1.49%, and is up roughly 11.75% in the last one year (as of 03/16/2026). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $114.16 and $143.00.

The fund has a beta of 0.86 and standard deviation of 12.61% for the trailing three-year period. With about 446 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .

Alternatives

State Street 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.

iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) tracks S&P 500 Index and the Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF Shares (VOO) tracks S&P 500 Index. iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $706 billion in assets, Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF Shares has $841.1 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% 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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