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

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The State Street SPDR Russell 1000 Yield Focus ETF (ONEY - Free Report) made its debut on 12/02/2015, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.

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 $633.16 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. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, 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

For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.

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

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 3.03%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Most ETFs are very transparent products, and disclose their holdings on a daily basis. ETFs also offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, though it's still important for investors to research a fund's holdings.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Financials sector - about 19.2% of the portfolio. Industrials and Consumer Staples round out the top three.

When you look at individual holdings, Progressive Corp (PGR) accounts for about 3.59% of the fund's total assets, followed by Comcast Corp Class A (CMCSA) and Allstate Corp (ALL).

Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 17.82% of ONEY's total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has added roughly 13.25% so far this year and is up about 14.81% in the last one year (as of 09/24/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $108.75 and $136.39

The fund has a beta of 0.83 and standard deviation of 14.18% for the trailing three-year period. With about 300 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .

Alternatives

State Street 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 Morningstar Value ETF (VTV) tracks CRSP U.S. Large Cap Value Index. Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF has $109.23 billion in assets, Vanguard Morningstar Value ETF has $188.73 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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