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Should You Invest in the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF)?
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The Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF - Free Report) was launched on 12/16/1998, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Financials - Broad segment of the equity market.
Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are excellent vehicles for long term investors.
Investor-friendly, sector ETFs provide many options to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Financials - Broad is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 3, placing it in top 19%.
Index Details
The fund is sponsored by State Street Global Advisors. It has amassed assets over $43.34 billion, making it the largest ETF attempting to match the performance of the Financials - Broad segment of the equity market. XLF seeks to match the performance of the Financial Select Sector Index before fees and expenses.
The Financial Select Sector Index seeks to provide an effective representation of the financial sector of the S&P 500 Index.
Costs
Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.10%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.73%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
ETFs offer a 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.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Financials sector--about 100% of the portfolio.
Looking at individual holdings, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Class B (BRK.B - Free Report) accounts for about 11.88% of total assets, followed by Jpmorgan Chase & Co. (JPM - Free Report) and Bank Of America Corp (BAC - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 53.88% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has lost about -6.75% and was up about 7.84% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 03/15/2022), respectively. XLF has traded between $33.16 and $41.42 during this last 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 1.12 and standard deviation of 30.18% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 68 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, XLF is an excellent option for investors seeking exposure to the Financials ETFs segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.
IShares U.S. Financial Services ETF (IYG - Free Report) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Financial Services Index and the Vanguard Financials ETF (VFH - Free Report) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Financials 25/50 Index. IShares U.S. Financial Services ETF has $2.28 billion in assets, Vanguard Financials ETF has $11.18 billion. IYG has an expense ratio of 0.41% and VFH charges 0.10%.
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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Should You Invest in the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF)?
The Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF - Free Report) was launched on 12/16/1998, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Financials - Broad segment of the equity market.
Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are excellent vehicles for long term investors.
Investor-friendly, sector ETFs provide many options to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Financials - Broad is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 3, placing it in top 19%.
Index Details
The fund is sponsored by State Street Global Advisors. It has amassed assets over $43.34 billion, making it the largest ETF attempting to match the performance of the Financials - Broad segment of the equity market. XLF seeks to match the performance of the Financial Select Sector Index before fees and expenses.
The Financial Select Sector Index seeks to provide an effective representation of the financial sector of the S&P 500 Index.
Costs
Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.10%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.73%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
ETFs offer a 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.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Financials sector--about 100% of the portfolio.
Looking at individual holdings, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Class B (BRK.B - Free Report) accounts for about 11.88% of total assets, followed by Jpmorgan Chase & Co. (JPM - Free Report) and Bank Of America Corp (BAC - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 53.88% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has lost about -6.75% and was up about 7.84% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 03/15/2022), respectively. XLF has traded between $33.16 and $41.42 during this last 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 1.12 and standard deviation of 30.18% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 68 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, XLF is an excellent option for investors seeking exposure to the Financials ETFs segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.
IShares U.S. Financial Services ETF (IYG - Free Report) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Financial Services Index and the Vanguard Financials ETF (VFH - Free Report) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Financials 25/50 Index. IShares U.S. Financial Services ETF has $2.28 billion in assets, Vanguard Financials ETF has $11.18 billion. IYG has an expense ratio of 0.41% and VFH charges 0.10%.
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.