LGLV vs SPLV

LGLVAState Street SPDR US Large Cap Low Volatility Index ETF

SPLVBInvesco S&P 500 Low Volatility ETF

In short

LGLV Most low-vol funds run an optimizer. LGLV just ranks the biggest 1,000 US stocks by how calm they have been and gives the quietest ones the heaviest weights, for 0.12% a year.

SPLV Low volatility without the black box. SPLV ranks the S&P 500 by the past year of daily price swings, keeps the 100 calmest names, and hands the biggest weights to the quietest ones. Rebalanced quarterly.

Stated mandate

LGLV The fund is designed to provide exposure to U.S. large-capitalization equities selected through a low-volatility index strategy.

SPLV The fund seeks exposure to the S&P 500 Low Volatility Index, which represents the 100 least volatile stocks in the S&P 500 Index.

Why people hold it

• LGLV 0.12% a year, below the typical US low-vol fund (cohort median 0.20%) and under USMV's 0.15%.
• The rules fit in one sentence: screen the largest 1,000 US stocks, weight the calmest heaviest, subject to liquidity limits. No black box.ssga.com
• Running since 2013 and tracking its index tightly, it rates as one of the stronger builds in the US low-vol group.

• SPLV The rule is plain arithmetic: rank the 500 on a year of daily price moves, keep the 100 least volatile, weight each inversely to its volatility. No optimizer, no risk model.spglobal.com
• The list is refreshed quarterly, so as market leadership calms down or heats up, the portfolio follows the data rather than a manager's read.spglobal.com
• A multi-billion-dollar fund and one of the more actively traded names in the low-vol aisle, which tends to keep bid-ask costs modest.
• About 100 large US stocks, with distributions paid monthly instead of quarterly. Running on the same mandate since 2011.invesco.com

Worth knowing

• LGLV Weighting by volatility alone means the sector mix can lean hard into whatever is quiet (often utilities and staples) and look nothing like the S&P 500.ssga.com
• Trades lighter than the category's household names, so spreads can be wider. Limit orders matter more here.
• Low volatility is not low risk: this is a fully invested stock fund and it can move very differently from the broad market.ssga.com

• SPLV 0.25% a year sits above the low-vol category median of 0.20%, and cheaper builds exist: LGLV at 0.12%, QLV at 0.09%.
• The index applies no sector limits, so weights can pile into whichever corners are calmest at the time, and that mix can shift meaningfully at each quarterly reshuffle.spglobal.com
• Low volatility is not low risk. This is a fully invested stock fund with no hedge or buffer, and it moves with the market.

Full LGLV profile⁠

Full SPLV profile⁠