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

The State Street 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?The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.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.But, there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds; these funds track non-cap weighted strategies, and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market.These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.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 & IndexManaged by State Street Investment Management, SPYD has amassed assets over $7.3 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Value. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, 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 ExpensesFor ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.Annual operating expenses for SPYD are 0.07%, which makes it one of the least expensive products in the space.The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 4.19%.Sector Exposure and Top HoldingsWhile ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. 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 26.7% of the portfolio. Consumer Staples and Financials round out the top three.Taking into account individual holdings, Apa Corp (APA) accounts for about 1.78% of the fund's total assets, followed by Lyondellbasell Indu Cl A (LYB) and Dow Inc (DOW).Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 15.48% of SPYD's total assets under management.Performance and RiskThe ETF return is roughly 10.87% and was up about 17.13% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 06/22/2026), respectively. SPYD has traded between $41.80 and $49.12 during this last 52-week period. The fund has a beta of 0.71 and standard deviation of 14.06% for the trailing three-year period, which makes SPYD a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 83 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .AlternativesState Street 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 Index Fund ETF Shares (VTV) tracks CRSP U.S. Large Cap Value Index. Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF has $99.75 billion in assets, Vanguard Value Index Fund ETF Shares has $183.27 billion. SCHD has an expense ratio of 0.06% and VTV 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 ValueBottom LineTo 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.Boost Your Portfolio with Our Top ETF InsightsZacks' exclusive Fund Newsletter delivers actionable information, top news and analysis, as well as top-performing ETFs, straight to your inbox every week.Don’t miss out on this valuable resource. It’s free!Get it now >>This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks