Making its debut on 10/21/2015, smart beta exchange traded fund SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF (SPYD) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Value category of the market.What Are Smart Beta ETFs?The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment.Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.Fund Sponsor & IndexThe fund is sponsored by State Street Global Advisors. It has amassed assets over $7.63 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Value. SPYD, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the S&P 500 High Dividend Index.The S&P 500 High Dividend Index is designed to measure the performance of the top 80 dividend-paying securities listed on the S&P 500 Index, based on dividend yield.Cost & Other ExpensesWhen considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor. And, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins in the long term if all other factors remain equal.Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.07% for this ETF, which makes it one of the least expensive products in the space.It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 3.98%.Sector Exposure and Top HoldingsIt is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.Representing 21.60% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Financials sector; Utilities and Real Estate round out the top three.When you look at individual holdings, Principal Financial Group Inc. (PFG) accounts for about 1.43% of the fund's total assets, followed by Cardinal Health Inc. (CAH) and Nrg Energy Inc. (NRG).The top 10 holdings account for about 12.46% of total assets under management.Performance and RiskThe ETF has lost about -1.40% and it's up approximately 2.53% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 12/08/2022), respectively. SPYD has traded between $35.47 and $45.45 during this last 52-week period.The fund has a beta of 0.99 and standard deviation of 29.78% for the trailing three-year period, which makes SPYD a medium risk choice in this particular space. With about 83 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.AlternativesSPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Value segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.IShares Russell 1000 Value ETF (IWD) tracks Russell 1000 Value Index and the Vanguard Value ETF (VTV) tracks CRSP U.S. Large Cap Value Index. IShares Russell 1000 Value ETF has $54.17 billion in assets, Vanguard Value ETF has $105.25 billion. IWD has an expense ratio of 0.18% and VTV charges 0.04%.Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - Large Cap Value.Bottom LineTo learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center. Want key ETF info delivered straight to your inbox? Zacks’ free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing ETFs, each week.Get it free >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF (SPYD): ETF Research Reports NRG Energy, Inc. (NRG): Free Stock Analysis Report Cardinal Health, Inc. (CAH): Free Stock Analysis Report Principal Financial Group, Inc. (PFG): Free Stock Analysis Report Vanguard Value ETF (VTV): ETF Research Reports iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF (IWD): ETF Research ReportsTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research