Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts

The Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts were launched by Boston asset manager SSgA State Street Global Advisors on January 29, 1993 as the first exchange-traded fund in the United States (preceded by the short-lived Index Participation Shares that launched in 1989); and are part of the SPDRs ETF chain.^[1][2][3] Devised by American Stock Exchange executive Nathan Most, the fund first traded on that market, but has since been listed elsewhere, including the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: SPY).

According to web glossary InvestorWords.com:

One SPDR unit is valued at approximately 1/10th of the value of the S&P 500. Dividends are distributed quarterly, and are based on the accumulated stock dividends held in trust, less any expenses of the trust.^[4]

With a market capitalization of $70.7 billion as of June 2009, it is the largest exchange-traded fund.

The sponsor is PDR Services LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of American Stock Exchange LLC.

Competition

Competitors to the SPY SPDR include the following:

Regular

NYSE: IVV - iShares
NYSE: RSP - RydexShares

Inverse

NYSE: SH - ProShares

Leveraged 200%

NYSE: RSU - RydexShares
NYSE: SSO - ProShares

Inverse Leveraged 200%

NYSE: RSW - RydexShares
NYSE: SDS - ProShares

Leveraged 300%

NYSE: UPRO - ProShares

Inverse Leveraged 300%

NYSE: SPXU - ProShares

References

1. ^ John C. Bogle, 'Value' Strategies, Wall Street Journal (Feb. 9, 2007).
2. ^ Wilfred Dellva, Exchange-Traded Funds Not for Everyone, Journal of Financial Planning (Apr. 2001).
3. ^ Jennifer Bayot (2004-12-10). "Nathan Most Is Dead at 90; Investment Fund Innovator". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/10/obituaries/10most.html. Retrieved on 2008-04-23. 
4. ^ "SPDR". InvestorWords.com, WebFinance, Inc.. http://www.investorwords.com/4632/SPDR.html. Retrieved on 2008-04-23. 

See also

• List of exchange-traded funds
• Collective investment scheme

External links

• Official SPDR ETFs website – State Street Global Advisors
• Obituary – Nathan Most – New York Times, 2004

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