Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Should You Invest in the SPDR S&P Insurance ETF (KIE)?

Read MoreHide Full Article

The SPDR S&P Insurance ETF (KIE - Free Report) was launched on 11/08/2005, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Financials - Insurance segment of the equity market.

Retail and institutional investors increasingly turn to passively managed ETFs because they offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; these kind of funds are also 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 - Insurance is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 9, placing it in bottom 44%.

Index Details

The fund is sponsored by State Street Global Advisors. It has amassed assets over $704.28 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Financials - Insurance segment of the equity market. KIE seeks to match the performance of the S&P Insurance Select Industry Index before fees and expenses.

The S&P Insurance Select Industry Index represents the insurance segment of the S&P Total Market Index.

Costs

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts 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 1.50%.

Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

Looking at individual holdings, Lincoln National Corp (LNC - Free Report) accounts for about 2.30% of total assets, followed by Allstate Corp (ALL - Free Report) and Everest Group Ltd (EG - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 22% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

Year-to-date, the SPDR S&P Insurance ETF return is roughly 6.44% so far, and is up about 22.48% over the last 12 months (as of 04/16/2024). KIE has traded between $38.14 and $52.07 in this past 52-week period.

The ETF has a beta of 0.82 and standard deviation of 18.46% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 51 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

SPDR S&P Insurance ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, KIE is a good option for those seeking exposure to the Financials ETFs area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

Invesco KBW Property & Casualty Insurance ETF (KBWP - Free Report) tracks KBW Nasdaq Property & Casualty Index and the iShares U.S. Insurance ETF (IAK - Free Report) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Select Insurance Index. Invesco KBW Property & Casualty Insurance ETF has $304.68 million in assets, iShares U.S. Insurance ETF has $645.14 million. KBWP has an expense ratio of 0.35% and IAK charges 0.40%.

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.

Published in