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Is SoFi Select 500 ETF (SFY) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Making its debut on 04/11/2019, smart beta exchange traded fund SoFi Select 500 ETF (SFY - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Growth 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 offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.

On the other hand, some investors who believe that it is possible to beat the market by superior stock selection opt to invest in another class of funds that track non-cap weighted strategies--popularly known as smart beta.

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.

Methodologies like equal-weighting, one of the simplest options out there, fundamental weighting, and volatility/momentum based weighting are all choices offered to investors in this space, but not all of them can deliver superior returns.

Fund Sponsor & Index

The fund is sponsored by Sofi. It has amassed assets over $715.99 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Growth. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the SOLACTIVE SOFI US 500 GROWTH INDEX before fees and expenses.

The Solactive SoFi US 500 Growth Index follows a rules-based methodology that tracks the performance of 500 of the largest U.S.-listed companies weighted based on a proprietary mix of their market capitalization and fundamental factors.

Cost & Other Expenses

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.05%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 0.39%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector - about 50.2% of the portfolio. Healthcare and Financials round out the top three.

Taking into account individual holdings, Nvidia Corp (NVDA) accounts for about 15.74% of the fund's total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT) and Apple Inc (AAPL).

The top 10 holdings account for about 43.96% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF return is roughly 17.77% so far this year and was up about 22.91% in the last one year (as of 10/13/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $120.71 and $157.29

The fund has a beta of 1.10 and standard deviation of 17.68% for the trailing three-year period. With about 504 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .

Alternatives

SoFi Select 500 ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.

Vanguard Morningstar Growth ETF (VUG) tracks CRSP U.S. Large Cap Growth Index and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ) tracks NASDAQ-100 Index. Vanguard Morningstar Growth ETF has $236.94 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $498.86 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.03% and QQQ changes 0.18%.

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 Growth

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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