Is SPDR Russell 1000 Low Volatility Focus ETF (ONEV) a Strong ETF Right Now?

Designed to provide broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend category of the market, the SPDR Russell 1000 Low Volatility Focus ETF (ONEV) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 12/02/2015.

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.

Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.

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 State Street Investment Management. It has amassed assets over $596.48 million, making 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

Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.

With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.20%.

ONEV's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 1.82%.

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.

ONEV's heaviest allocation is in the Industrials sector, which is about 20.3% of the portfolio. Its Healthcare and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Taking into account individual holdings, Cardinal Health Inc (CAH) accounts for about 1.24% of the fund's total assets, followed by Humana Inc (HUM) and Cencora Inc (COR).

Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 8.93% of ONEV's total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, ONEV has added about 8.58%, and is up roughly 9.78% in the last one year (as of 09/12/2025). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $114.16 and $135.42.

The ETF has a beta of 0.88 and standard deviation of 14.35% for the trailing three-year period. With about 452 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .

Alternatives

SPDR Russell 1000 Low Volatility Focus ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.

iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) tracks S&P 500 Index and the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) tracks S&P 500 Index. iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $674.11 billion in assets, Vanguard S&P 500 ETF has $749.17 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

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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