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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?

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.

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.

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

ONEV is managed by State Street Investment Management, and this fund has amassed over $271.7 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. ONEV, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the Russell 1000 Low Volatility Focused Factor Index.

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.

Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.20% for ONEV, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.98%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

ETFs offer diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk, but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Industrials sector - about 19.3% of the portfolio. Financials and Healthcare round out the top three.

When you look at individual holdings, Allstate Corp (ALL) accounts for about 1.53% of the fund's total assets, followed by Progressive Corp (PGR) and Mckesson Corp (MCK).

The top 10 holdings account for about 9.54% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has gained about 7.65% and was up about 9.14% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 09/24/2026), respectively. ONEV has traded between $129.05 and $151.87 during this last 52-week period.

The ETF has a beta of 0.80 and standard deviation of 12.49% for the trailing three-year period. With about 450 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 $850.64 billion in assets, Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF Shares has $1052.83 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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