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Is SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Making its debut on 01/31/2006, smart beta exchange traded fund SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Technology ETFs 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.
Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.
This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
XSD is managed by State Street Global Advisors, and this fund has amassed over $1.62 billion, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Technology ETFs. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the S&P Semiconductor Select Industry Index before fees and expenses.
The S&P Semiconductor Select Industry Index represents the Semiconductor sub-industry portion of the S&P Total Markets Index. The S&P TMI tracks all the U.S. common stocks listed on the NYSE, AMEX, NASDAQ National Market and NASDAQ Small Cap exchanges. The Semiconductor Index is a modified equal weight index.
Cost & Other Expenses
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.35%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.10%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
ETFs offer diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk, but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
For XSD, it has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector --about 100% of the portfolio.
Looking at individual holdings, Sunpower Corporation (SPWR - Free Report) accounts for about 3.96% of total assets, followed by Wolfspeed Inc (WOLF - Free Report) and Silicon Laboratories Inc. (SLAB - Free Report) .
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 32.37% of XSD's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added about 0% and was up about 42.51% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 01/03/2022), respectively. XSD has traded between $158.58 and $248.86 during this last 52-week period.
XSD has a beta of 1.21 and standard deviation of 36.01% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a high risk choice in the space. With about 42 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.
Alternatives
SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Technology ETFs segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH - Free Report) tracks MVIS US Listed Semiconductor 25 Index and the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX - Free Report) tracks PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector Index. VanEck Semiconductor ETF has $7.17 billion in assets, iShares Semiconductor ETF has $9.95 billion. SMH has an expense ratio of 0.35% and SOXX charges 0.43%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Technology 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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Is SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Making its debut on 01/31/2006, smart beta exchange traded fund SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Technology ETFs 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.
Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.
This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
XSD is managed by State Street Global Advisors, and this fund has amassed over $1.62 billion, which makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Technology ETFs. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the S&P Semiconductor Select Industry Index before fees and expenses.
The S&P Semiconductor Select Industry Index represents the Semiconductor sub-industry portion of the S&P Total Markets Index. The S&P TMI tracks all the U.S. common stocks listed on the NYSE, AMEX, NASDAQ National Market and NASDAQ Small Cap exchanges. The Semiconductor Index is a modified equal weight index.
Cost & Other Expenses
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.35%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.10%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
ETFs offer diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk, but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
For XSD, it has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector --about 100% of the portfolio.
Looking at individual holdings, Sunpower Corporation (SPWR - Free Report) accounts for about 3.96% of total assets, followed by Wolfspeed Inc (WOLF - Free Report) and Silicon Laboratories Inc. (SLAB - Free Report) .
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 32.37% of XSD's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has added about 0% and was up about 42.51% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 01/03/2022), respectively. XSD has traded between $158.58 and $248.86 during this last 52-week period.
XSD has a beta of 1.21 and standard deviation of 36.01% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a high risk choice in the space. With about 42 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.
Alternatives
SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Technology ETFs segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH - Free Report) tracks MVIS US Listed Semiconductor 25 Index and the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX - Free Report) tracks PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector Index. VanEck Semiconductor ETF has $7.17 billion in assets, iShares Semiconductor ETF has $9.95 billion. SMH has an expense ratio of 0.35% and SOXX charges 0.43%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Technology 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.