RSP Stock Recent News

Despite U.S. strikes on Iran, markets remain calm as investors eye S&P 500 ETFs like VOO, SPY and IVV for stability.

Last week's economic data painted a picture of broad cooling across several sectors, with consumers pulling back significantly on spending. Retail sales saw their largest decline in over two years in May, as consumers scaled back purchases following earlier front-loading.

The Fed held rates steady and now projects only two cuts this year, with slower GDP growth and higher inflation expected in 2025-2026. Tariffs remain a net economic negative, with most of their inflationary and growth-dampening effects still ahead of us. AI and Big Tech capital expenditures are driving resilient U.S. GDP growth, offsetting broader economic fragility and tariff headwinds.

The S&P 500 posted its second straight weekly loss, finishing down 0.2% from the previous Friday. The index is now sitting 2.87% below its record close from February 19th, 2025.

The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO -0.34%), also known by its ticker symbol VOO, is one of the most popular funds in the world. Including Vanguard's mutual fund version of the same index fund, investors have $1.4 trillion in assets invested in it.

The S&P 500 fell 1.1% on Friday amid geopolitical tensions, resulting in a 0.4% loss for the week. The index is now sitting 2.72% below its record close from February 19th, 2025.

Last week's economic signals were a mix of cautious optimism and renewed concern. While inflation saw a slight uptick in May, it still came in cooler than expected.

RSP offers balanced S&P 500 exposure, reducing concentration risk but sacrificing upside from mega-cap growth, especially in tech-heavy rallies. Over the past five years, RSP has underperformed SPY by 22%, and I expect this trend to persist given current market dynamics. Equal weighting increases exposure to smaller, more volatile companies, and does not sufficiently mitigate downside risk compared to market-cap-weighted funds.

RSP's equal-weight methodology forces it to sell winners and buy losers, limiting its ability to capture outsized gains from top-performing stocks. While RSP reduces concentration risk and offers sector diversification, its tilt toward smaller stocks increases volatility and drawdowns compared to SPY. Recent underperformance is likely to end as the earnings gap between 'Mag 7' and other S&P 500 stocks narrows, potentially setting up RSP for better relative returns in 2025.

Last week, the labor market took center stage, presenting a nuanced picture of continued resilience alongside subtle signs of softening. While the U.S.