Time to pop the champagne! Today, we’re celebrating the anniversary of the Stratified Large Cap Index ETF (SSPY), the ETF that’s shaking up how we think about the S&P 500. Over the past year, SSPY has shown it’s not just another fund—it’s leading the charge for innovation, diversification, and balanced sector exposure.
Rethinking the S&P 500: The Stratified Difference
Stratified’s sector weighting of the S&P 500, at the time of rebalance, focuses on distributing investments across the 8 different sectors in a way that aims to reduce concentration risk and enhance diversification.
Instead of following traditional market cap weighting, which can lead to heavy reliance on a few large sectors, Stratified’s approach equalizes exposure to various sectors, with the goal of having a more balanced impact on the overall index performance.
Balancing the Scale: Sector Neutrality Explained
Stratified Weighting defines sector neutrality in an absolute, not relative, sense. When the fund rebalances, each of the eight primary FIS sectors is assigned an equal weight of 12.5% of the index. This equal weighting process continues within each primary sector’s subsectors. For example, Financials has three subsectors (Banking, Real Estate, and Insurance), so the target weight for each is about 4.17% (12.5% / 3). In total, each primary sector is subdivided into an additional four levels.
Seeking to Reduce Risk, Enhance Diversification: The SSPY Advantage
For investors looking to avoid the concentration risk and sector imbalances that can come with a traditional market cap or equal weighting, the Stratified Large Cap Index ETF offers a compelling alternative. Its focus on true sector balance aims for exposure to diverse industries, seeking growth potential for long-term portfolios.
With SSPY, achieving balance in investing is no longer just a goal—it’s a priority.
Celebrating Success: Thank You to Our Visionaries and Investors
As we celebrate the anniversary of SSPY, we want to extend a heartfelt thank you to the visionary investors and dedicated team who made this milestone possible. Your belief in SSPY’s mission to prioritize true balance and enhance diversification has been the driving force behind its success.
Congratulations to everyone who has been part of this journey! Together, we’ve proven that innovation in investing is not just achievable—it’s transformational. Here’s to SSPY’s continued success and to a future filled with growth and opportunity. Cheers!
Looking for a compelling alternative that’s shaking up how we think about the S&P 500? Learn more about the Stratified Large Cap Index ETF (SSPY) at StratifiedFunds.com.
Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. For a prospectus or summary prospectus with this and other information about the Fund, please call (866) 972-4492 or visit our website at https://stratifiedfunds.com/investor-materials. Read the prospectus or summary prospectus carefully before investing.
The Funds are distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC. Exchange Traded Concepts, LLC serves as the investment advisor. Foreside Fund Services, LLC. is not affiliated with Exchange Traded Concepts, LLC or any of its affiliates.
Investing involves risk, including loss of principal. The Funds are subject to certain other risks, including but not limited to, equity securities risk, large-capitalization risk, index tracking risk, passive strategy/index risk, and market trading risk. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal.
Shares are bought and sold at market price (not NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the Fund. Investors may purchase or sell individual shares on an exchange on which they are listed. Market returns are based upon the midpoint of the bid/ask spread at 4:00 p.m. Eastern time (when NAV is normally determined for most ETFs), and do not represent the returns you would receive if you traded shares at other times. Please see the prospectus for more details.
The Syntax Stratified LargeCap Index™ is the property of Syntax, LLC, which has contracted with S&P Opco, LLC (a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC) to calculate and maintain the Index. The Index is not sponsored by S&P Dow Jones Indices or its affiliates or its third-party licensors (collectively, “S&P Dow Jones Indices”). S&P Dow Jones Indices will not be liable for any errors or omissions in calculating the Index. “Calculated by S&P Dow Jones Indices” and the related stylized mark(s) are service marks of S&P Dow Jones Indices and have been licensed for use by Syntax, LLC, the parent company of Syntax Advisors, LLC. S&P® is a registered trademark of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC (“SPFS”), and Dow Jones® is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC (“Dow Jones”).
The Syntax Stratified LargeCap Index™ is the property of Syntax, LLC, the Fund’s index provider. Syntax®, Stratified®, Stratified Indices®, Stratified Weight™, and FIS™ are trademarks or registered trademarks of Locus LP. Performance of an index is not illustrative of any particular investment. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.
Stratified Weight™ is the weighting methodology by which Syntax diversifies an index’s constituent companies that share “Related Business Risks.” Related Business Risk occurs when two or more companies provide similar products and/or services or share economic relationships such as having common suppliers, customers or competitors. The process of identifying, grouping, and diversifying holdings across Related Business Risk groups within an index is called stratification, and was designed by Syntax to seek to correct for business risk concentrations that regularly occur in capitalization-weighted indices and equal-weighted indices.
The Stratified Hedged Strategy combines the benefits of exposure to a Stratified Weight™ equity portfolio with a rules-based protection program managed by Exchange Traded Concepts to reduce the risk of losses due to market downturns.
Diversification does not ensure a profit or guarantee against a loss.
The S&P 500® Index is a market-capitalization-weighted index of the 500 leading publicly traded companies in the U.S.
Important Disclosures
Exchange Traded Concepts is an SEC Registered Investment Adviser. The Firm's Form ADV is publicly available and can be found here: https://www.adviserinfo.sec.gov/Firm/151197. ETC may be subject to various conflicts of interest in the provision of its services. Potential conflicts of interest shall be identified in the Firm's Form ADV. The Exchange Traded Funds are referred to as "Funds" for purposes of this document. ETC transacts business in the United States and other jurisdictions where it is properly registered or excluded or exempted from registration requirements. This document does not constitute an offer of services in jurisdictions where ETC does not have the necessary licenses.
No representation is made that any Fund's investment process, objectives, goals or risk management techniques will or are likely to be achieved or be successful or that any Fund or any underlying investment will make any profit or will not sustain losses. The risks of investing in a Fund will not be negated by ETC's Fund services, and no assurance is given that a Fund will not be exposed to risks of significant trading losses.
The information provided herein does not constitute tax, legal or accounting advice. ETC does not provide legal, financial, accounting or tax advice. Clients and prospective Clients, as well as investors and prospective investors in a Fund ("Investors") are advised to seek the counsel of their own legal, financial and tax advisors for all matters relating to the services and structures contemplated herein. Each Investor (either alone or with its professional advisors) is solely responsible for its own due diligence, risk assessment and tolerance, investment objectives, any decision to invest in a Fund, and for monitoring its investment for purposes of determining whether it wishes to remain invested in such product and whether such product continues to be appropriate for its circumstances and requirements.
The information provided herein: (a) is provided as of the date indicated, (b) is in summary only and is not complete, and (c) is subject to change at any time without notice. Certain information provided by ETC is based on third-party sources and, although generally believed to be reliable, has not been independently verified. ETC is not responsible for errors or omissions from these sources. No representation is made with respect to the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of such information, and ETC assumes no obligation to update or otherwise revise such information. In no event will ETC be liable to any party for any direct, indirect, incidental, exemplary, compensatory, punitive, special or consequential damages, costs, expenses, legal fees or losses (including, without limitation, lost income or lost profits and opportunity costs) in connection with the use of the information contained herein, even if advised of the possibility of such damages. ETC and its respective employees and its affiliates hereby exclude, to the extent permitted by applicable law, all liability in connection with the use of the information herein.
Interests in Funds will not be insured by the FDIC, the SIPC or any other organization, will not be deposits of any bank, and are not guaranteed by any bank.