SPDR Portfolio Europe ETF

SPDR Portfolio Europe ETF (SPEU) is a State Street index fund that tracks the STOXX Europe Total Market Index, which covers nearly 1,900 companies in 17 Western European countries. Its 0.07% expense ratio is among the lowest of similar Europe funds; only Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF (VGK), at 0.06%, costs less. With about $713 million in net assets as of June 30, 2026, it is much smaller than its rivals.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, SPEU returned +9.4%, 5th of 7 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +8.1% and its 10-year +9.6%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 36.3% and regained its old high 8 months after the low.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2008 (-42.5%); its best was 2025 (+35.8%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 62.5% (Oct 31, 2007 to Mar 9, 2009), recovered by Jan 19, 2018.

As of Jun 30, 2026, the fund held 1,689 securities; the ten largest made up 18.62% of assets, and 2.08% sat in cash and money-market holdings.

• Over the three months to Jun 30, 2026, investors withdrew a net $16.5M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +7.41%, +2.71%, +0.20%.

SPEU is an index fund. Its adviser, State Street's SSGA Funds Management, aims to match the total return of the STOXX Europe Total Market Index before fees and expenses. STOXX is not affiliated with the fund, and it picks the index's members and their weights. In each country it includes, from the United Kingdom and Switzerland to Poland and Portugal, the index covers at least 95% of the market value of freely traded shares. It held 1,882 securities as of November 30, 2025. It is reconstituted (its membership reset) every quarter.

Each company is weighted by its free-float market capitalization. That is the share price times the number of shares readily available to trade. As of June 30, 2026, ASML Holding was the largest position at about 4.7%. HSBC Holdings followed at 2.0% and Novartis at 1.8%. The 10 largest holdings made up 18.6% of assets, and UK companies made up about 20.7%.

The fund uses sampling, so it doesn't have to buy every stock in the index. It must keep at least 80% of its total assets in index securities, and it held 1,689 holdings as of June 30, 2026. It may also hold depositary receipts, stocks outside the index and money market funds. It may use futures contracts (agreements to buy or sell at a set price later) to manage cash flows. It doesn't use leverage or options.

• SPEU charges 0.07% a year, versus an average of 0.27% for the similar funds below (2nd of 7, cheapest first).
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $7 in the first year and $90 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

It adds about 1,689 European companies to a US-heavy stock portfolio at low cost, but it is still an all-stock fund with full stock-market risk.

SPEU could add companies that a US-only portfolio lacks, such as ASML, Novartis and Nestle, for 0.07% a year. Its trailing 12-month yield was 3.63% as of October 27, 2026, and it pays distributions quarterly.

The trade-off is deep drops. The fund fell 62.5% from October 2007 to March 2009. It took about 106 months, until January 2018, to get back to its old high. Its worst calendar year was 2008, when it lost 42.5%. It lost 36.3% in the 2020 COVID crash and recovered in 8 months. It lost 32.2% in the 2022 bear market and recovered in 15 months. Someone who has to sell shares during a slump like these locks in losses. Swings in European currencies add to the ups and downs. Past results don't predict the future, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports.