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 $54.57 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.
Qualities of growth stocks include faster growth rates compared to the broader market, as well as higher valuations and higher than average sales and earnings growth rates. Something to keep in mind is the higher level of volatility that is affiliated with growth stocks. They are likely to outperform value stocks in strong bull markets but over the longer-term, value stocks have delivered better returns than growth stocks in almost all markets.
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 0.04%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.47%.
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 52.6% of the portfolio. Telecom and Financials round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Nvidia Corp (NVDA) accounts for about 14.4% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT) and Apple Inc (AAPL).
The top 10 holdings account for about 58.85% 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 added about 14.76% so far this year and was up about 23.97% in the last one year (as of 08/07/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $94.07 and $122.60.
The ETF has a beta of 1.17 and standard deviation of 19.3% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 149 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Growth ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, SPYG is an outstanding 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 Index Fund ETF Shares (VUG) and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ) track a similar index. While Vanguard Growth Index Fund ETF Shares has $228.45 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $475.69 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.03% and QQQ charges 0.18%.
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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