The S&P 500 just notched one of its best first-quarter performances on record and that was good news for growth stocks and ETFs. Consider the SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Growth ETF (NYSEArca: SPYG), which is up nearly 16% year-to-date.
SPYG, which tracks the S&P 500 Growth Index, has been adding new assets at an impressive pace.
“It’s apparent in the rush of investors trying to get access to growth stocks, a strategy that was pummeled during the fourth-quarter meltdown,” reports Bloomberg. “The $4.54 billion SPDR Portfolio 500 Growth ETF (SPYG) took in nearly $630 million in March — the largest monthly inflow on record for the almost 19-year-old fund.”
In the first quarter, investors added more than $928 million to SPYG. As of Tuesday, April 2nd, the fund had $4.59 billion in assets under management, according to State Street data.
Inside SPYG ETF
SPYG holds 295 stocks with an almost 26% weight to the technology sector. Communication services and consumer discretionary, which are growth-oriented sectors, combine for about 27% of the fund’s weight.
Investors can still enhance their portfolios as the bull market extends with growth-oriented stocks that continue to perform despite the recent bouts of volatility. The growth style has outperformed the market in spite of being prone to sell-offs with strong corporate earnings.
“In fact, Microsoft, Amazon.com, Facebook and Google parent Alphabet account for nearly 22% of the fund’s holdings. While the growth fund is already up more than 15% this year, some strategists say there could be more room to run,” according to Bloomberg.
Other growth ETFs include the iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF (NYSEArca: IWF) and Vanguard Growth ETF (NYSEArca: VUG). IWF takes growth picks from the large-cap universe of Russell 1000 stocks. VUG selects picks from the largest 85th percentile of the U.S. stocks.
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