What Is SPHQ? Invesco S&P 500 Quality ETF

SPHQ is the Invesco S&P 500 Quality ETF, a smart-beta fund that tracks the S&P 500 Quality Index. Rather than holding all 500 S&P names, it isolates roughly the top 100 companies that score highest on a quality screen built from three fundamentals: return on equity, the accruals ratio, and financial leverage. The result is a portfolio tilted toward profitable, financially sound large-cap US businesses.

The fund launched in December 2005 and has grown into one of Invesco's flagship factor products, managing roughly $17 billion as of mid-2026. It charges about 0.15% a year, which is inexpensive for a rules-based factor strategy, and rebalances periodically as quality scores change across the S&P 500.

Approximate weights as of mid-2026; refresh quarterly from Invesco's fund page. Each ticker links to its individual stock guide in Walnut.

SPHQ holds around 100 stocks weighted by a combination of quality score and market capitalization. Recent top positions include Lam Research, Visa, Mastercard, GE Vernova, Apple, SanDisk, GE Aerospace, Costco, KLA, and Cisco, with the top ten making up roughly 40% of the fund.

Because the index does not target sectors directly, weights reflect where high quality currently concentrates. Technology and semiconductors carry the largest share, followed by industrials, while lower-scoring or more leveraged sectors are underrepresented. These tilts shift over time as the underlying quality metrics are recalculated and the portfolio is rebalanced.

SPHQ's closest peer is the iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (QUAL). Both chase the quality factor at similar low fees, but SPHQ draws only from the S&P 500 while QUAL selects from the broader MSCI USA universe, giving QUAL more holdings and some mid-cap exposure. SPHQ is the tighter, purely large-cap screen.

Against a plain S&P 500 fund like VOO, SPHQ is more concentrated and more factor-driven. VOO owns the whole index by market cap; SPHQ keeps only the highest-quality subset. That can help in risk-off periods when strong balance sheets are rewarded, and can lag when speculative, lower-quality stocks lead the market.

SPHQ's long-run results tend to track the broad S&P 500 fairly closely, with periods of outperformance when quality is in favor and stretches of lagging when investors chase riskier, lower-quality names. Its heavy current weighting in profitable technology and semiconductor firms means its near-term returns are sensitive to that group.

Looking ahead, the fund's outcome depends on whether the quality factor stays rewarded and on how the underlying screens reshape the portfolio at each rebalance. Quality strategies historically hold up relatively well in downturns, but no factor outperforms in every environment, and past performance does not predict future results.

This is descriptive information, not investment advice. SPHQ may fit investors who want low-cost, rules-based exposure to high-quality large-cap US companies as either a core holding or a satellite tilt alongside a broad index fund. Its modest ~1.0% yield means it is oriented toward quality and growth rather than income.

It may be a weaker fit for investors seeking high dividends, broad diversification across all market caps, or exposure to fast-moving speculative names, since the quality screen deliberately excludes weaker-balance-sheet companies. Consider your goals, time horizon, and risk tolerance, and compare SPHQ with QUAL and a plain S&P 500 fund before deciding.

SPHQ trades on the exchange like any stock and can be purchased through brokers such as Robinhood, Fidelity, Schwab, and Public, including fractional shares where those brokers support them. With roughly $17 billion in assets, it is highly liquid, so spreads are typically tight for everyday orders.

You can also connect your brokerage to Walnut to track SPHQ inside a thematic basket, see how it sits against your target weights, and monitor how the quality tilt interacts with the rest of your portfolio. Walnut is a tracking and intelligence layer; trades are placed and settled at your own broker.

SPHQ offers a low-cost, rules-based way to tilt toward high-quality large-cap US stocks at ~0.15%, slightly cheaper than iShares QUAL at 0.15% but drawn only from the S&P 500. It suits a core or satellite role for investors who want a quality factor screen. Yield is modest at ~1.0%, so it is a growth-and-quality holding, not an income vehicle.

Whether SPHQ is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, concentration, and what would have to be true for it to outperform from here in is SPHQ a buy?

SPHQ yields ~1.0% as of mid-2026, paid by passing through the dividends of its underlying holdings. For the payout schedule, history, and how the distributions are taxed, see SPHQ dividend: yield and schedule.