Should State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF (SPYD) Be on Your Investing Radar?

If you're interested in broad exposure to the Large Cap Value segment of the US equity market, look no further than the State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF (SPYD), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on October 21, 2015.

The fund is sponsored by State Street Investment Management. It has amassed assets over $7.70 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Value segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Value

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.

Carrying lower than average price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios, value stocks also have lower than average sales and earnings growth rates. While value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in nearly all markets when you consider long-term performance, growth stocks are more likely to outpace value stocks in strong bull 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 0.07%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 4.08%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Real Estate sector -- about 25.7% of the portfolio. Consumer Staples and Financials round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Phillips 66 (PSX) accounts for about 1.63% of total assets, followed by Franklin Resources Inc (BEN) and Iron Mountain Inc (IRM).

The top 10 holdings account for about 15.3% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

SPYD seeks to match the performance of the S&P 500 High Dividend Index before fees and expenses. 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.

The ETF has added roughly 17.44% so far this year and is up about 19.37% in the last one year (as of 08/13/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $41.96 and $50.54.

The ETF has a beta of 0.71 and standard deviation of 14.07% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 81 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend 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, SPYD is an excellent option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) and the Vanguard Morningstar Value ETF (VTV) track a similar index. While Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF has $107.76 billion in assets, Vanguard Morningstar Value ETF has $193.44 billion. SCHD has an expense ratio of 0.06% and VTV charges 0.03%.

Bottom-Line

An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they 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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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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