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

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The SPDR Russell 1000 Yield Focus ETF (ONEY - Free Report) was launched on 12/02/2015, 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?

The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the 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.

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.

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

ONEY is managed by State Street Global Advisors, and this fund has amassed over $807.12 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Value. 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.

With one of the cheaper products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.20%.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 3.13%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Financials sector - about 19.90% of the portfolio. Industrials and Energy round out the top three.

When you look at individual holdings, Diamondback Energy Inc (FANG - Free Report) accounts for about 1.56% of the fund's total assets, followed by Dow Inc (DOW - Free Report) and Devon Energy Corp (DVN - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 13.31% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

Year-to-date, the SPDR Russell 1000 Yield Focus ETF has gained about 7.15% so far, and is up roughly 10.76% over the last 12 months (as of 08/09/2024). ONEY has traded between $86.22 and $109.61 in this past 52-week period.

The fund has a beta of 1.12 and standard deviation of 16.79% 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.

Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD - Free Report) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index and the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV - Free Report) tracks CRSP U.S. Large Cap Value Index. Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF has $56.89 billion in assets, Vanguard Value ETF has $118.43 billion. SCHD has an expense ratio of 0.06% 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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