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Is State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF (SPYD) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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The State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF (SPYD - Free Report) was launched on 10/21/2015, 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?
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 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.
Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.
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
The fund is managed by State Street Investment Management, and has been able to amass over $7.23 billion, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Value. SPYD seeks to match the performance of the S&P 500 High Dividend Index before fees and expenses.
The S&P 500 High Dividend Index is designed to measure the performance of the top 80 dividend-paying securities listed on the S&P 500 Index, based on dividend yield.
Cost & Other Expenses
Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.
With one of the least expensive products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.07%.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 4.30%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Real Estate sector - about 26.3% of the portfolio. Consumer Staples and Financials round out the top three.
When you look at individual holdings, Lyondellbasell Indu Cl A (LYB) accounts for about 1.55% of the fund's total assets, followed by Verizon Communications Inc (VZ) and Apa Corp (APA).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 14.5% of SPYD's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF has added about 7.88% so far, and was up about 18.95% over the last 12 months (as of 04/22/2026). SPYD has traded between $41.47 $48.07 in this past 52-week period.
SPYD has a beta of 0.76 and standard deviation of 14.42% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 83 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Value segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index and the Vanguard Value Index Fund ETF Shares (VTV) tracks CRSP U.S. Large Cap Value Index. Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF has $87.08 billion in assets, Vanguard Value Index Fund ETF Shares has $169.74 billion. SCHD has an expense ratio of 0.06% and VTV 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 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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Is State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF (SPYD) a Strong ETF Right Now?
The State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF (SPYD - Free Report) was launched on 10/21/2015, 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?
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 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.
Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.
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
The fund is managed by State Street Investment Management, and has been able to amass over $7.23 billion, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Value. SPYD seeks to match the performance of the S&P 500 High Dividend Index before fees and expenses.
The S&P 500 High Dividend Index is designed to measure the performance of the top 80 dividend-paying securities listed on the S&P 500 Index, based on dividend yield.
Cost & Other Expenses
Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.
With one of the least expensive products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.07%.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 4.30%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Real Estate sector - about 26.3% of the portfolio. Consumer Staples and Financials round out the top three.
When you look at individual holdings, Lyondellbasell Indu Cl A (LYB) accounts for about 1.55% of the fund's total assets, followed by Verizon Communications Inc (VZ) and Apa Corp (APA).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 14.5% of SPYD's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF has added about 7.88% so far, and was up about 18.95% over the last 12 months (as of 04/22/2026). SPYD has traded between $41.47 $48.07 in this past 52-week period.
SPYD has a beta of 0.76 and standard deviation of 14.42% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 83 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Value segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index and the Vanguard Value Index Fund ETF Shares (VTV) tracks CRSP U.S. Large Cap Value Index. Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF has $87.08 billion in assets, Vanguard Value Index Fund ETF Shares has $169.74 billion. SCHD has an expense ratio of 0.06% and VTV 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 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.