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

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Making its debut on 12/02/2015, smart beta exchange traded fund SPDR Russell 1000 Yield Focus ETF (ONEY - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.

Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.

If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.

By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.

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 Global Advisors. ONEY has been able to amass assets over $790.80 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Value. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund 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

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.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.20%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.

ONEY's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 3.06%.

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.

ONEY's heaviest allocation is in the Financials sector, which is about 19.30% of the portfolio. Its Consumer Discretionary and Energy round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Pioneer Natural Resources Co (PXD) accounts for about 1.69% of total assets, followed by Diamondback Energy Inc (FANG - Free Report) and Valero Energy Corp (VLO - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 13.96% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, ONEY has added about 5.04%, and is up roughly 20.47% in the last one year (as of 05/31/2024). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $86.22 and $108.66.

ONEY has a beta of 1.12 and standard deviation of 16.92% for the trailing three-year period. With about 302 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

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.

IShares Russell 1000 Value ETF (IWD - Free Report) tracks Russell 1000 Value Index and the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV - Free Report) tracks CRSP U.S. Large Cap Value Index. IShares Russell 1000 Value ETF has $54.85 billion in assets, Vanguard Value ETF has $113.70 billion. IWD has an expense ratio of 0.19% and VTV charges 0.04%.

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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