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

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

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.

Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.

On the other hand, some investors who believe that it is possible to beat the market by superior stock selection opt to invest in another class of funds that track non-cap weighted strategies--popularly known as smart beta.

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.

Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

The fund is managed by State Street Global Advisors. KRE has been able to amass assets over $3.32 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs in the Financials ETFs. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, 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

When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor. And, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins in the long term if all other factors remain equal.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.35%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.

The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.28%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Most ETFs are very transparent products, and disclose their holdings on a daily basis. ETFs also offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, though it's still important for investors to research a fund's holdings.

KRE's heaviest allocation is in the Financials sector, which is about 100% of the portfolio.

Taking into account individual holdings, First Citizens Bancshares Inc. Class A (FCNCA - Free Report) accounts for about 1.54% of the fund's total assets, followed by Truist Financial Corporation (TFC - Free Report) and First Republic Bank .

The top 10 holdings account for about 14.99% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

So far this year, KRE has lost about -11.81%, and it's up approximately 0.98% in the last one year (as of 09/19/2022). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $56.83 and $78.78.

KRE has a beta of 1.19 and standard deviation of 41.44% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a high risk choice in the space. With about 146 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 $74.09 million in assets, iShares U.S. Regional Banks ETF has $837.84 million. KBWR has an expense ratio of 0.35% and IAT charges 0.39%.

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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