The Principal U.S. Mega-Cap ETF (USMC) tracks an index of the largest U.S. companies. The index first divides the biggest 10% of companies by market value from the bottom 90%. The top tier is weighted by market value while the bottom 90% are equal-weighted, with a tilt based on volatility. The result is a concentrated portfolio of about 40 securities. The biggest holdings are familiar names like Microsoft, Amazon, and Johnson & Johnson, with the lower tier including stocks like Home Depot and Chevron. USMC charges a reasonable management fee for the category.
The Principal U.S. Mega-Cap ETF (USMC) tracks an index of the largest U.S. companies. The index first divides the biggest 10% of companies by market value from the bottom 90%. The top tier is weighted by market value while the bottom 90% are equal-weighted, with a tilt based on volatility. The result is a concentrated portfolio of about 40 securities. The biggest holdings are familiar names like Microsoft, Amazon, and Johnson & Johnson, with the lower tier including stocks like Home Depot and Chevron. USMC charges a reasonable management fee for the category.
USMC’s concentrated portfolio is an argument against using the fund as a core portfolio holding, especially considering that there’s so much portfolio overlap with better-diversified funds. USMC has plenty of competition in the multi-factor space, such as the JPMorgan Diversified Return U.S. Equity ETF (JPUS), the Invesco S&P 500 Low Volatility ETF (SPLV), the Invesco S&P 500 High Dividend Low Volatility ETF (SPHD), or the Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF (GSLC), to name a few. Plain-vanilla market-cap weighted index funds also come with a built-in bent toward the largest companies, so investors should also take a look at ultra-low-cost S&P 500 index ETFs like the iShares S&P 500 ETF (IVV) or the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO).