SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY, the first-ever exchange-traded fund listed in the United States, combines a broadly diversified portfolio of U.S. large-cap stocks with low turnover and a cheap price. This provides a durable edge over Morningstar Category peers. However, there are cheaper alternatives, and its unit investment trust structure limits managers’ ability to add incremental value for shareholders compared to some of its peers. This fund earns a Morningstar Analyst Rating of Silver. 
The strategy replicates the flagship S&P 500, a market-cap-weighted basket of about 500 of the largest U.S. stocks. Rather than index rules dictating construction, an index committee has discretion over selecting stocks that meet certain liquidity and profitability standards. The index then weights the chosen constituents by their market cap. While a committee-based approach lacks transparency, it adds flexibility to reduce unnecessary changes during reconstitution. This tames transaction costs compared with more-rigid rules-based indexes.
U.S. large-cap stocks attract liquidity and widespread attention, such that new information is quickly reflected in prices. Market-cap weighting is a sensible approach here. It harnesses the market’s collective wisdom of the relative value of each holding with the added benefit of low turnover and associated trading costs. 
However, market-cap weighting may expose the index to significant stock- or sector-level concentration during the market’s intermittent manic episodes. This can tilt the portfolio toward richly valued names or sectors, as was the case during the post-lockdown rally in 2020. In the long run, the benefits of broad diversification, low turnover, and a low fee outweigh these drawbacks.

Analyst Rating

A flagship S&P 500 tracker.

Associate Analyst

Mo'ath Almahasneh

Apple

Microsoft

Amazon

NVIDIA

Alphabet

Tesla

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. - Ordinary Shares - Class B

Exxon Mobil

This broadly diversified portfolio is representative of the opportunity set in the large-blend category. It relies on the market’s collective wisdom to size its positions and enjoys low turnover as a result. It earns a High Process Pillar rating.

High

Process

Because this fund is structured as a unit investment trust, the portfolio managers are not named in its regulatory filings. However, this portfolio is managed by SSGA’s Global Equity Beta Solutions, the same team that manages State Street’s other equity index funds, under the leadership of Michael Feehily. State Street Global Advisors' Global Equity Beta Solutions team's global footprint, trading, and risk management processes enable low transaction costs and tight index tracking, supporting an Above Average People Pillar Rating.
Michael Feehily is the head of the global equity beta solutions team and serves as the chairperson for SSGA's trade management oversight committee. He has been with State Street since 1992 and joined SSGA in 2010.
The managers' objectives are to mitigate tracking error, transaction costs, and the tax consequences of their trades. A team of analysts helps the managers effectively track the index by anticipating index changes and corporate actions. The management team’s compensation is tied to index tracking performance, operational efficiency, and contribution to process improvement, which aligns their interest with investors'. The team is subject to independent risk oversight.

Above Average

People

State Street Global Advisors is under new leadership but continues to move along the positive trajectory established by former leaders. SSGA maintains its Above Average Parent Pillar rating.
Cyrus Taraporevala, who oversaw much of SSGA’s recent transformation, retired from the CEO position in December 2022 and passed the baton to his successor, Yie-Hsin Hung. She inherited a business that’s become more disciplined with its fund lineup. Fees have come down, while product development remains focused on fixed-income and sustainability funds, and many of SSGA’s launches have echoed that intention.
The seeds that SSGA planted over the past several years have been bearing fruit. It built out a low-cost series of portfolio building-block ETFs in the U.S. bearing the “SPDR Portfolio” branding. SSGA launched these later than its industry rivals, so they aren’t as large. But they’re competitive, with solid management and low fees, which helped them consistently take in new money over the past several years.
SSGA continued to overhaul its ETF business in Europe with most of its recent fixed-income and sustainability fund launches. Many of these funds track indexes and charge relatively low fees. With operations in the U.S. and Europe standing on a firm foundation, SSGA will put more focus on its Asia-Pacific business—the smallest regional segment of its business.

Parent

SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust

SPY tracks a market cap-weighted index of US large- and mid-cap stocks selected by the S&P Committee.

We are at a confusing time with so many macroeconomic uncertainties. And the first principles always help to clarify much of the confusion. I will use the SPDR® S&P 500 ETF Trust as an example to explain why this is the time to trim equity exposure. The risk premium implied in SPY's valuation simply does not make sense to me anymore when benchmarked against risk-free rates.

SPY: Why We Started Selling And What We Did With The Proceeds

CF Industries Holdings

Charter Communications

Centene

Valero Energy

WestRock

The S&P 500 witnessed its worst month of 2023, losing 5% in September. Fears of higher rates for a longer-than-expected period took the sheen away from stocks in the month.

S&P 500 Logs Worst Month of 2023: 5 Stocks Still Up in ETF

Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF

iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

SPDR Gold Trust

iShares Gold Trust

iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF

iShares National Muni Bond ETF

Invesco QQQ

Invesco DB US Dollar Index Bullish Fund

Vanguard S&P 500 ETF

Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund

Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund

September is historically the worst month of the year for stocks.

ETF asset Report of September 2023

WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund

iShares MSCI Hong Kong ETF

WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity Fund

iShares MSCI India ETF

KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF

Five of the eight indexes on our world watchlist posted gains through October 2, 2023. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 finished in the top spot with a YTD gain of 21.71%.

World Markets Watchlist: October 2, 2023

Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF

Last week was once again packed with several key economic releases that helped provide insight into the overall state of the U.S. economy. Policymakers, advisors, and analysts closely monitor these indicators to gauge recession risk and understand the direction of interest rates because the data can ultimately impact business decisions and financial markets.

Economic Growth: The Role of Consumer Consumption and Confidence

Index funds may be boring, but they provide a strong backbone for your portfolio. ETFs are one of the best vehicles to invest in the market.

One Magnificent Money Move You Must Make Before 2023 Is Over

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) stock price has crawled back after crashing to a low of $422.38 on Friday. It rose by 0.50% on Monday as investors cheered the temporary spending bill passed in Washington.

SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) ETF: Beware of these 4 important risks

Alerian MLP ETF

SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF

Enterprise Products Partners

Realty Income Corp

Vanguard Real Estate ETF

Billionaire investor Ray Dalio recently predicted that a debt crisis will occur in the United States. We discuss how to prepare your income portfolio to weather such a storm should it occur. We also share two of our top high-yield SWAN picks of the moment.

Billionaire Ray Dalio Warns Of Debt Crisis: Prepare Your Income Portfolio

Bank of America

Best Buy

Discover

Goldman Sachs

Morgan Stanley

NextEra Energy

Pioneer Natural Resources

Skyworks Solutions

Truist Financial

Texas Instruments

Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF

The market slide continues in September with the SPDR S&P 500 Trust ETF dropping by 4.74%. The top 10 stocks on the watchlist for October 2023 offer a 4.33% dividend yield, more than double the S&P 500. My top 10 list of high dividend yield stocks has generated an annualized rate of return of 10.29% since its inception in November 2020.

My Top 10 High Yield Dividend Stocks For October 2023

The author's pension plan assets outperformed the S&P 500 index in September, but did not meet the objective of preserving capital. I use a moving average crossover system to determine how to allocate my pension plan assets. All ETFs that I follow for this article lost money in September, but I will maintain my 100% allocation to SPY.

My Current View Of The S&P 500 Index: October 2023 Edition (Technical Analysis)

Chevron

Schlumberger

Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund

The market has been swept by a sea of red month-do-date (MTD), with the overall market, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF NYSE: SPY down over 3% MTD. Apart from one sector, most sectors and industries have suffered the same outcome.

Will the Energy Sector Continue to Outshine the Market?

BlackRock

Crown Castle International

iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF

Tricon Residential

W. P. Carey

Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund

The U.S. government appears headed for a shutdown. I look at four ways that this could disrupt the REIT sector. I also share my approach to REITs right now and share my top picks.

How The U.S. Government Shutdown Could Impact REITs

Nonfarm Payrolls report for September shows a weakening labor market, but strike actions and other factors complicate the data. Constellation Brands to report earnings, investors interested in U.S. market share and changing alcohol preferences.

Wall Street Breakfast Catalyst Watch: Today's Market Vs. 2018

Invesco DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund

iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF

Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US Index Fund

Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF

The S&P 500 closed September with a monthly loss of 4.93%, after a loss of 1.71% in August.

Moving Averages: S&P Finishes September Down 4.9%

AdvisorShares Dorsey Wright Micro-Cap ETF

Advisorshares Let Bob AI Powered Momentum ETF

Brookstone Active ETF

Brookstone Intermediate Bond ETF

Brookstone Dividend Stock ETF

Brookstone Growth Stock ETF

Brookstone Opportunities ETF

Brookstone Ultra-Short Bond ETF

Brookstone Value Stock ETF

Brookstone Yield ETF

Ishares Transition-Enabling Metals Etf

It was another strong week for launches, with 21 new ETFs added to the industry count. That number includes funds from Capital Group, Dimensional, American Century, BlackRock, J.P.

This Week in ETFs: FormulaFolios Renamed, Adds New Funds

First Trust Nasdaq Bank ETF

iShares U.S. Regional Banks ETF

SPDR S&P Bank ETF

Invesco KBW Bank ETF

SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF

First Trust NASDAQ ABA Community Bank Index Fund

The journey this year for bank ETFs has been anything but smooth. However, the tables are probably turning for the segment as the rates are peaking and the yield curve is steepening.

3 Factors to Bet on Bank ETFs Now

Cincinnati Financial

Clorox

Ecolab

Essex Property Trust

Hormel Foods

Medtronic

ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF

Stanley Black & Decker

Sysco

Target

T. Rowe Price Group

The ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrat ETF fell by 2.34% in August and is down 6.25% in September bringing its year-to-date return down to -0.70%. I present 3 strategies that can theoretically beat the dividend aristocrat index in the long term. After 26 months of tracking these strategies, only 1 strategy is beating NOBL but all 3 continue to outperform SPY.

My Best Dividend Aristocrats For October 2023

iShares JP Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF

iShares Core S&P 500 ETF

iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF

iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF

iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF

During LSEG Lipper's fund flows week that ended September 27, 2023, investors were overall net redeemers of fund assets for the second straight week, removing a net $16.5 billion. Exchange-traded equity funds recorded $2.3 billion in weekly net outflows, marking the third weekly outflow in four. Exchange-traded taxable fixed income funds observed a $778 million weekly outflow - the macro group's first weekly outflow in three.

U.S. Weekly FundFlows Insight Report: Taxable Fixed Income Funds Log Largest Weekly Outflow Of 2023

Hi! In this week's ETF Wrap, you'll get see how international stocks, including in emerging markets, stack up against U.S. equities in the third quarter.

As U.S. stocks slump, here's how the SPY ETF stacks up against global equities in third quarter

According to the Real Yields model, the S&P 500 Forward P/E and its fair value should weaken. Historical Evidence between real yields indicates future decline.

Historical Evidence Between Real Yields Suggests Further Slump For SPY

If you own SPY stock, you'll never trail the S&P 500. The expense ratio is low and you're diversified across 500 stocks and 11 sectors.

Is SPY Stock A Buy Right Now? What To Know About World's Top Index

Advanced Micro Devices

Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3x Shares

After lulling investors to sleep in the past few months, several charts suggest that equities may wake up in a big way into year-end.

The Equity Bull Case (5 Must-See Charts!)

Market sentiment is currently leaning towards higher interest rates for longer, causing stocks to sell off. However, we share several key macro trends that will likely push interest rates lower next year. We share our updated outlook for SPY.

Interest Rates Won't Be Higher For Longer: SPY Implications

iShares China Large-Cap ETF

iShares iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond ETF

ProShares Short QQQ

Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bear 3x Shares

ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ

ProShares UltraPro QQQ

High trading volume indicates high liquidity, which is a key characteristic of ETFs.

10 Most Actively Traded ETFs of Q3

Pacer US Cash Cows 100 ETF

iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF

Earlier this week, we reminded advisors and end clients to do homework. Don't just rely on an ETF's descriptive name, like growth, to tell you what you own.

Chart of the Week: Making Tactical Moves With ETFs

News for SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust ETF (SPY)