Is SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF (SPYD) a Strong ETF Right Now?

The SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF (SPYD) made its debut on 10/21/2015, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value category of the market.

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.

Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.

However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: smart beta.

Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.

Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

Because the fund has amassed over $6.87 billion, this makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Value. SPYD is managed by State Street Global Advisors. Before fees and expenses, SPYD seeks to match the performance of the S&P 500 High Dividend Index.

The S&P 500 High Dividend Index is designed to measure the performance of the top 80 dividend-paying securities listed on the S&P 500 Index, based on dividend yield.

Cost & Other Expenses

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.

With one of the least expensive products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.07%.

It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 4.46%.

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 in the Real Estate sector - about 23.80% of the portfolio. Utilities and Consumer Staples round out the top three.

When you look at individual holdings, Philip Morris International (PM) accounts for about 1.86% of the fund's total assets, followed by At+t Inc (T) and Consolidated Edison Inc (ED).

SPYD's top 10 holdings account for about 16.12% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has gained about 0.07% so far this year and is up roughly 11.40% in the last one year (as of 06/12/2025). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $38.81 and $47.32.

SPYD has a beta of 0.82 and standard deviation of 17.06% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 80 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Value segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.

Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index and the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV) tracks CRSP U.S. Large Cap Value Index. Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF has $69.92 billion in assets, Vanguard Value ETF has $134.98 billion. SCHD has an expense ratio of 0.06% and VTV charges 0.04%.

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 Value.

Bottom Line

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

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