Designed to provide broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend category of the market, the State Street SPDR MSCI USA StrategicFactors ETF (QUS) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 04/15/2015.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.
Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.
On the other hand, some investors who believe that it is possible to beat the market by superior stock selection opt to invest in another class of funds that track non-cap weighted strategies--popularly known as 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.
The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.
Fund Sponsor & Index
QUS is managed by State Street Investment Management, and this fund has amassed over $1.59 billion, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Blend. Before fees and expenses, QUS seeks to match the performance of the MSCI USA Factor Mix A-Series Index.
The MSCI USA Factor Mix A-Series Capped Index seeks to measure the equity market performance of large and mid-cap companies across the U.S. equity market.
Cost & Other Expenses
Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.
Annual operating expenses for QUS are 0.15%, which makes it one of the cheaper products in the space.
QUS's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 1.24%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
ETFs offer 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.
Representing 28.1% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector; Financials and Healthcare round out the top three.
When you look at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL) accounts for about 3.22% of the fund's total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT) and Nvidia Corp (NVDA).
QUS's top 10 holdings account for about 21.81% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added roughly 12.66% so far this year and is up about 19.19% in the last one year (as of 08/20/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $165.61 and $196.13
QUS has a beta of 0.83 and standard deviation of 11.60% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 530 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
State Street SPDR MSCI USA StrategicFactors ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) tracks S&P 500 Index and the Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF Shares (VOO) tracks S&P 500 Index. iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $898.31 billion in assets, Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF Shares has $1027.58 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and VOO 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 Blend
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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State Street SPDR MSCI USA StrategicFactors ETF (QUS): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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