If you're interested in broad exposure to the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market, look no further than the State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Growth ETF (SPYG), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on September 25, 2000.
The fund is sponsored by State Street Investment Management. It has amassed assets over $43.33 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 typically have a market capitalization above $10 billion. Considered a more stable option, large cap companies boast more predictable cash flows and are less volatile than their mid and small cap counterparts.
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. Also, growth stocks are a type of equity that carries more risk compared to others. Even though growth stocks are more likely to outperform their value counterparts in strong bull markets, value stocks have a record of delivering better returns in almost all markets than growth stocks.
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 0.04%, making it the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.55%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, 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 43% of the portfolio. Telecom and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Nvidia Corp (NVDA) accounts for about 14.9% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT) and Apple Inc (AAPL).
The top 10 holdings account for about 55.13% 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 has gained about 17.17% so far this year and is up roughly 19.54% in the last one year (as of 11/24/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $71.83 and $109.39.
The ETF has a beta of 1.11 and standard deviation of 18.63% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 218 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
State Street 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 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) and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ) track a similar index. While Vanguard Growth ETF has $193.69 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $386.22 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.04% and QQQ charges 0.2%.
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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State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Growth ETF (SPYG): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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