The SEC’s decision to allow mutual fund share classes of ETFs arrived almost a year ago. It has helped issuers offer mutual fund shares of their most popular ETFs. The latest ETF to add a new share class comes from State Street, with a new share of the State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF (SPYM). The new share class has the ticker SPYMX for the institutional mutual fund class.
Key Takeaways:
- The SEC approved mutual fund share classes of ETFs late last year, with major new mutual fund shares added since.
- State Street added yet another mutual fund share class with its new SPYMX share for SPYM.
- SPYM's solid outperformance could make its new share class a draw for institutional investors.
SPYM charges just two basis points to track a market cap-weighted index of 500 large and midcap names picked by the S&P committee. Launched back in 2005, the S&P 500 ETF has outperformed its ETF Database Large Cap Blend Equities category average over all time frames.
For example, the fund has returned 15.9% over the last 12 months according to ETF Database data. Over three years, the strategy has returned 23.3%. Those performances have beaten their respective averages of 12.65% and 10.4% over the same three-year period.
The fund has seen growing demand in 2026 and is one of the default funds for the new Trump Accounts added under the new administration. The ETF has added a very healthy $70 billion in YTD net inflows per ETF DB. That is more than double the total net inflows the fund saw last year.
“Retirement investors shouldn’t have to choose between the operational familiarity of a mutual fund and the scale and efficiency associated with an ETF,” said Anna Paglia, chief business officer at State Street Investment Management. “This structure removes a longstanding vehicle constraint and represents an important step in our commitment to bring the benefits of ETF innovation to defined contribution savers.”
See more: Is Now the Moment for Value ETFs? The Case for VALQ
SPYM, a sibling fund of SPY, represents an intriguing opportunity for investors. Overall, the fund has reached some $170 billion in overall assets. With its new mutual fund share class, it may yet pick up some strong additional flows in the next year.
For more news, information, and analysis, visit the Equity ETF Content Hub.
A message from Advisor Perspectives and VettaFi: To learn more about this and other topics, check out our podcasts.
Read more commentaries by VettaFi
