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Should SoFi Select 500 ETF (SFY) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market, the SoFi Select 500 ETF (SFY - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 04/11/2019.

The fund is sponsored by Sofi. It has amassed assets over $934.38 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Growth

Companies that fall in the large cap category tend to have a market capitalization above $10 billion. They tend to be stable companies with predictable cash flows and are usually less volatile than mid and small cap companies.

Qualities of growth stocks include faster growth rates compared to the broader market, as well as higher valuations and higher than average sales and earnings growth rates. Something to keep in mind is the higher level of volatility that is affiliated with growth stocks. Compared to value stocks, growth stocks are a safer bet in a strong bull market, but don't perform as strongly in almost all other financial environments.

Costs

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts 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 has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.05%.

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 to the Information Technology sector--about 37.90% of the portfolio. Financials and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Nvidia Corp (NVDA - Free Report) accounts for about 14.59% of total assets, followed by Amazon.com Inc (AMZN - Free Report) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 42.62% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

SFY 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.

The ETF has added about 27.23% so far this year and is up about 48.55% in the last one year (as of 10/29/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $73.65 and $107.91.

The ETF has a beta of 1.03 and standard deviation of 19.14% for the trailing three-year period. With about 504 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

SoFi Select 500 ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, SFY is a great option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG - Free Report) and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ - Free Report) track a similar index. While Vanguard Growth ETF has $143.78 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $301.17 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.04% and QQQ charges 0.20%.

Bottom-Line

Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are excellent vehicles for long term investors.

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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