Designed to provide broad exposure to the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market, the SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF (SPLG) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 11/08/2005.
The fund is sponsored by State Street Global Advisors. It has amassed assets over $60.96 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.
Why Large Cap Blend
Companies that find themselves in the large cap category 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.
Blend ETFs are aptly named, since they tend to hold a mix of growth and value stocks, as well as show characteristics of both kinds of equities.
Costs
Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.02%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.38%.
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 30.40% of the portfolio. Financials and Healthcare round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL) accounts for about 6.91% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT) and Nvidia Corp (NVDA).
The top 10 holdings account for about 33.77% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
SPLG seeks to match the performance of the Russell 1000 Index before fees and expenses. The S&P 500 Index is designed to measure the performance of the large-capitalization segment of the U.S. equity market.
The ETF has lost about -5.69% so far this year and is up about 9.88% in the last one year (as of 04/29/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $58.41 and $72.10.
The ETF has a beta of 1 and standard deviation of 18.20% for the trailing three-year period. With about 506 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 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, SPLG is a great option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) and the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) track a similar index. While SPDR S&P 500 ETF has $576.86 billion in assets, Vanguard S&P 500 ETF has $582.12 billion. SPY has an expense ratio of 0.09% and VOO charges 0.03%.
Bottom-Line
Retail and institutional investors increasingly turn to passively managed ETFs because they offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; these kind of funds 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 ETF (SPLG): ETF Research Reports Apple Inc. (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report Microsoft Corporation (MSFT): Free Stock Analysis Report NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA): Free Stock Analysis Report SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY): ETF Research Reports Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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