FLOW vs SPHQ

FLOWBGlobal X U.S. Cash Flow Kings 100 ETF

SPHQAInvesco S&P 500 Quality ETF

In short

FLOW Global X's entry in the cash-cow trade: roughly 100 US companies ranked on free cash flow yield, the money a business has left after the bills are paid. It undercuts the typical fee in its factor peer group and pays monthly.

SPHQ Live since 2005, SPHQ is an elder statesman of quality investing: rank the S&P 500 on profitability, earnings quality and balance-sheet strength, hold the top 100, charge 0.15% net of a waiver through August 31, 2028.

Stated mandate

FLOW The Fund seeks to provide investment results that generally correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the Global X U.S. Cash Flow Kings 100 Index.

SPHQ The fund seeks exposure to the S&P 500 Quality Index and normally invests at least 90% of assets in common stocks included in that index.

Why people hold it

• FLOW The screen is free cash flow yield, so the ranking runs on cash a business actually throws off rather than reported earnings. Roughly 100 US names make the cut.globalxetfs.com
• 0.25% a year sits under the 0.32% typical for its multifactor cohort, and matches what Schwab charges on FNDX, one of the group's strongest-rated funds.
• Distributions are paid monthly, a steadier rhythm than the four-times-a-year schedule most stock funds run on.
• Rules-based and index-tracking: holdings come from a published Global X index, not a manager's judgment call.globalxetfs.com

• SPHQ 0.15% net of a waiver through August 31, 2028 (0.20% gross), below the median for quality factor funds and level with QUAL and FQAL at 0.15%.
• The rules are published and mechanical: score the S&P 500 on return on equity, accruals ratio and financial leverage ratio, take the top 100, weight by quality score times market cap.spglobal.com
• Universe discipline: candidates come only from the S&P 500, so every holding is an established large cap rather than a smaller name screened in from a broader pool.spglobal.com
• A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, pays quarterly, and has run since 2005. It sits in the stronger tier of quality factor ETFs.

Worth knowing

• FLOW A small fund that trades thinly. Spreads and fill quality can cost more than the expense ratio here, so limit orders carry more weight than they would in a giant.
• Launched in 2023, so there's no full-cycle record behind the strategy, and it currently sits in the lower half of a crowded multifactor field.
• Cheap for a factor fund, not cheap outright. Cohort leaders like VONV and VYM charge 0.06% and 0.04% for broad value and dividend exposure.

• SPHQ About 100 stocks, weighted by quality score times market cap, so the biggest high-scorers carry real weight. Narrower than owning the full S&P 500.spglobal.com
• The index rebalances semiannually, so a company whose fundamentals slip mid-period stays in the portfolio until the next reshuffle.spglobal.com
• Two peers undercut it on fee: JQUA at 0.12% and VFQY at 0.13%.

Full FLOW profile⁠

Full SPHQ profile⁠