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Weekly ETF Brief

Factoring in Cash Flow: the Rise of Quality Aristocrats

Investors targeting quality factor exposure now have a flexible option, aligned to the free cash flows of quality companies.

Temps de lecture: 3 min
Senior Equity ETF Strategist

Quality strategies represent approximately 9% ($12.6 billion) of assets under management (“AUM”) in European-listed factor exchange traded funds. This is the 4th largest factor category after Yield, Size, and Value.1 The available offering predominantly consists of ETFs tracking a MSCI Sector Neutral Quality Index.

Figure 1 – Quality Index Methodologies

 

S&P Quality FCF Aristocrats Index

MSCI Sector Neutral Quality Index

Ticker

SPDQFAUN Index
SP5QFAUN Index

M1WONQ Index
M1USSNQ Index

Selection Universe

S&P Developed LargeMidCap Index
S&P 500® Index

MSCI World Index
MSCI USA Index

Eligibility Criteria

No Real Estate
No Banks, Insurance*
+ FCF for 10 consecutive years

All constituents of selection universe

Construction

Select top 100 stocks with 10+ years of uninterrupted positive FCF and a high FCF Score, which is based on FCF Margin and ROIC

Select an optimised basket with the highest Quality Score computed within the sector, which is based on ROE, Debt to Equity, and Earnings Variability

Weighting Scheme

The product of the float-adjusted market cap and the FCF Score

The product of the market cap weight and the Quality Score

Stock Weight Constraint

5% maximum

5% maximum**

Sector/Industry Constraint

40% maximum

Sector neutral at rebalance

Country Constraint

60% maximum

None

Factor Constraint

None

Yes, see index methodology

Turnover Constraint

None

Yes, see index methodology

Target Constituents

100

Optimised

Rebalance Frequency

Semi-Annual (3rd Friday in April and October)

Semi-Annual (Last business day in May and November)

Source: S&P Dow Jones Indices, MSCI, as of 30 November 2024. The information contained above is for illustrative purposes only. *Other GICS sub-industries not eligible for inclusion are Mortgage REITs, Specialized Finance, Asset Management & Custody Banks, and Investment Banking & Brokerage.**In a narrow selection universe, where the maximum stock exceeds 10%, the maximum stock weight is the weight in the selection universe.

We. have partnered with S&P to provide investors with a new type of quality factor exposure, the SPDR® S&P Quality Aristocrats. Offering exposure to World (S&P Developed Quality FCF Aristocrats Index) and US equities (S&P 500 Quality FCF Aristocrats Index), the tracking methodology uses Free Cash Flow (“FCF”) as a basis for measuring a given company’s quality features.

Quality is an objective measure of certain variables which identify businesses with competitive advantages and long-term plans. It's based on the idea that investors are willing to pay more ‘premia’ for certain attributes such as profitability, low leverage, and low earnings variability. FCF is the amount of cash generated by a business after accounting for cash outflows to support operations, maintain capital assets, and pursue organic growth. Simply put, it is the excess cash that a company produces after accounting for the costs of running a business and capital expenditures. FCF allows the firm increased financing flexibility, it can be used to pay dividends, buy back stock, pay down debt or reinvested to support other business growth opportunities.

The Aristocrats’ Approach is Longevity

These new index exposures represent an expansion of S&P’s “Aristocrats” franchise. SPDR® has long offered investors the opportunity for yield factor exposure with S&P’s Dividend Aristocrats® family of indices. The Aristocrats brand emphasizes the selection of high quality companies based on longevity. These concepts select for companies with established long-term track records of delivering in a desired factor category. In the yield category, Dividend Aristocrats are companies with a track record of paying regular cash dividends to investors, uninterrupted. In the quality category, Quality Aristocrats are companies with a track record of generating positive free cash flow for investors, uninterrupted. 

 

Figure 2 – S&P Aristocrats Methodologies

Strategy Dividend Aristocrats Free Cash Flow (“FCF”) Aristocrats
Focus Select companies with an uninterrupted long term track record of paying regular cash dividends. Select companies an uninterrupted long term track record of positive FCF, with a higher FCF margin and ROIC.

Investment Rationale

  • Equity participation
  • Reliable income stream
  • Defensive qualities
  • High absolute returns
  • Exposure to high quality growth stocks
Target Companies Dividend Aristocrats tend to be mature, blue-chip companies focused on operating efficiency. Quality FCF Aristocrats tend to be earlier stage with more growth opportunities.
Capital Return Policy More likely to return capital through the regular dividend. Capital is returned to shareholders through dividends and buybacks, but also a higher level of reinvestment in growth opportunities.
Factor Exposure Yield (with Value tilt) Quality (with Growth tilt)
SPDR Funds

SPDR® S&P® Global Dividend Aristocrats UCITS ETF (Dist)

SPDR® S&P® U.S. Dividend Aristocrats UCITS ETF (Dist)

SPDR® S&P Developed Quality Aristocrats UCITS ETF (Acc)

SPDR® S&P 500® Quality Aristocrats UCITS ETF (Acc)

Source: State Street Global Advisors, S&P Dow Jones Indices, as of 31 October 2024. The information contained above is for illustrative purposes only.

Flexibility in Targeting Quality

Quality aristocrats take a relatively unconstrained approach to harvesting the quality factor. By limiting the allocation constraints, the quality aristocrats has the flexibility to go ‘wherever it needs’ to find companies with higher margin profitability and higher return on capital. As a result, the strategy is likely to reflect structural and tactical sector bias over time. As of the end of November, the developed market exposure (S&P Developed Quality FCF Aristocrats Index) is reflecting a significant bias towards the Technology sector and away from the Industrials sector.  

Sector

MSCI World Index

S&P Developed Quality FCF Aristocrats Index

Active Weight

Technology

25.47%

39.54%

14.07%

Financials

16.19%

17.91%

1.72%

Industrials

10.97%

4.66%

-6.31%

Health Care

10.71%

16.30%

5.59%

Cons Disc.

10.68%

6.93%

-3.75%

Comm. Srvcs

7.82%

5.97%

-1.85%

Cons Staples

6.15%

5.03%

-1.11%

Energy

3.90%

0.00%

-3.90%

Materials

3.39%

3.36%

-0.03%

Utilities

2.54%

0.30%

-2.25%

Real Estate

2.18%

0.00%

-2.18%

Bloomberg Finance L.P., as of 02 December 2024. This information should not be considered a recommendation to invest in a particular sector, country or to buy or sell any security shown. It is not known whether the sectors, countries or securities shown will be profitable in the future. Holdings and Characteristics are as of the date indicated, are subject to change, and should not be relied upon as current thereafter. Diversification does not ensure a profit or guarantee against loss

In today’s environment of high inflation and high interest rates, having a healthy cash flow is particularly important as debt has become both harder and more costly to issue. SPDR® ETFs now offer a systematic approach to identifying high quality companies that have a long term track record of being most efficient at converting revenue into free cash flow with the new family of Quality Aristocrats ETFs. 

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