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Is SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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The SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE - Free Report) was launched on 06/19/2006, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Financials ETFs category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.

Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.

If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.

Based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such, these indexes attempt to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance.

The smart beta space gives investors many different choices, from equal-weighting, one of the simplest strategies, to more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting. However, not all of these methodologies have been able to deliver remarkable returns.

Fund Sponsor & Index

KRE is managed by State Street Global Advisors, and this fund has amassed over $5.33 billion, which makes it one of the largest ETFs in the Financials ETFs. Before fees and expenses, KRE seeks to match the performance of the S&P Regional Banks Select Industry Index.

The S&P Regional Banks Select Industry Index represents the regional banks segment of the S&P Total Market Index.

Cost & Other Expenses

For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.

Annual operating expenses for KRE are 0.35%, which makes it one of the cheaper products in the space.

KRE's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 1.98%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

It 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.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Financials sector - about 100% of the portfolio.

Taking into account individual holdings, Silvergate Capital Corp. Class A accounts for about 3.01% of the fund's total assets, followed by Western Alliance Bancorp (WAL - Free Report) and Regions Financial Corporation (RF - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 21.95% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

Year-to-date, the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF has lost about -2.18% so far, and was up about 2.36% over the last 12 months (as of 03/16/2022). KRE has traded between $59.87 and $78.78 in this past 52-week period.

The ETF has a beta of 1.25 and standard deviation of 41.31% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 134 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Financials ETFs segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.

Invesco KBW Regional Banking ETF (KBWR - Free Report) tracks KBW Nasdaq Regional Banking Index and the iShares U.S. Regional Banks ETF (IAT - Free Report) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Select Regional Banks Index. Invesco KBW Regional Banking ETF has $88.75 million in assets, iShares U.S. Regional Banks ETF has $1.41 billion. KBWR has an expense ratio of 0.35% and IAT charges 0.41%.

Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Financials ETFs.

Bottom Line

To 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.

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