Designed to provide broad exposure to the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market, the State Street SPDR MSCI USA StrategicFactors ETF (QUS) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on April 15, 2015.
The fund is sponsored by State Street Investment Management. It has amassed assets over $1.57 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Blend segment of the US equity market.
Why Large Cap Blend
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.
Blend ETFs are aptly named, since they tend to hold a mix of growth and value stocks, as well as show characteristics of both kinds of equities.
Costs
When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts in the long term if all other factors remain equal.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.15%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.25%.
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 Information Technology sector -- about 27.9% of the portfolio. Financials and Healthcare round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL) accounts for about 3.22% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT) and Nvidia Corp (NVDA).
The top 10 holdings account for about 21.81% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
QUS seeks to match the performance of the MSCI USA Factor Mix A-Series Index before fees and expenses. 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.
The ETF has gained about 11.67% so far this year and is up roughly 18.04% in the last one year (as of 08/21/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $166.32 and $196.13.
The ETF has a beta of 0.83 and standard deviation of 11.61% for the trailing three-year period, making it 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 carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, QUS is a good option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.
The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) and the Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF Shares (VOO) track a similar index. While iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has $889.35 billion in assets, Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF Shares has $1,019.80 billion. IVV has an expense ratio of 0.03% and VOO charges 0.03%.
Bottom-Line
Retail and institutional investors increasingly turn to passively managed ETFs because they offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; these kind of funds 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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State Street SPDR MSCI USA StrategicFactors ETF (QUS): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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