Launched on September 25, 2000, the SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Growth ETF (SPYG) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.
The fund is sponsored by State Street Investment Management. It has amassed assets over $42.71 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.
Why Large Cap Growth
Large cap companies usually have a market capitalization above $10 billion. Overall, they are usually a stable option, with less risk and more sure-fire cash flows than mid and small cap companies.
While growth stocks do boast higher than average sales and earnings growth rates, and they are expected to grow faster than the wider market, investors should note these kinds of stocks have higher valuations. 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
When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts in the long term if all other factors remain equal.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.04%, making it the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.66%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
ETFs offer a diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector -- about 41.7% of the portfolio. Telecom and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Nvidia Corp (NVDA) accounts for about 14.26% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT) and Broadcom Inc (AVGO).
The top 10 holdings account for about 55.05% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
SPYG seeks to match the performance of the S&P 500 Growth Index before fees and expenses. The S&P 500 Growth Index measures the performance of the large-capitalization growth sector in the U.S. equity market.
The ETF return is roughly 20.25% so far this year and is up roughly 28.97% in the last one year (as of 09/23/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $71.83 and $105.31.
The ETF has a beta of 1.11 and standard deviation of 19.83% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 214 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Growth ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, SPYG is an excellent 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) and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ) track a similar index. While Vanguard Growth ETF has $196.72 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $380.24 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.04% and QQQ charges 0.2%.
Bottom-Line
An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they are also 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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SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Growth ETF (SPYG): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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