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Is SPDR S&P Transportation ETF (XTN) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Industrials ETFs category of the market, the SPDR S&P Transportation ETF (XTN - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 01/26/2011.
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.
Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.
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.
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
Managed by State Street Global Advisors, XTN has amassed assets over $221.10 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Industrials ETFs. XTN, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the S&P Transportation Select Industry Index.
The S&P Transportation Select Industry Index represents the transportation segment of the S&P Total Market 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.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.35% for this ETF, which makes it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.87%.
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.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Industrials sector - about 100% of the portfolio.
Looking at individual holdings, Allegiant Travel Co (ALGT - Free Report) accounts for about 2.96% of total assets, followed by Jetblue Airways Corp (JBLU - Free Report) and Joby Aviation Inc (JOBY - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 28.24% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, XTN has gained about 6.31%, and it's up approximately 15.39% in the last one year (as of 01/28/2025). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $73.65 and $95.17.
The fund has a beta of 1.35 and standard deviation of 25.16% for the trailing three-year period, which makes XTN a high risk choice in this particular space. With about 46 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.
Alternatives
SPDR S&P Transportation ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Industrials ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
IShares U.S. Transportation ETF (IYT - Free Report) tracks Dow Jones Transportation Average Index and the U.S. Global Jets ETF (JETS - Free Report) tracks U.S. Global Jets Index. IShares U.S. Transportation ETF has $783.88 million in assets, U.S. Global Jets ETF has $1.10 billion. IYT has an expense ratio of 0.39% and JETS charges 0.60%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Industrials 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 Transportation ETF (XTN) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Designed to provide broad exposure to the Industrials ETFs category of the market, the SPDR S&P Transportation ETF (XTN - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 01/26/2011.
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.
Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.
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.
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
Managed by State Street Global Advisors, XTN has amassed assets over $221.10 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Industrials ETFs. XTN, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the S&P Transportation Select Industry Index.
The S&P Transportation Select Industry Index represents the transportation segment of the S&P Total Market 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.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.35% for this ETF, which makes it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.87%.
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.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Industrials sector - about 100% of the portfolio.
Looking at individual holdings, Allegiant Travel Co (ALGT - Free Report) accounts for about 2.96% of total assets, followed by Jetblue Airways Corp (JBLU - Free Report) and Joby Aviation Inc (JOBY - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 28.24% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, XTN has gained about 6.31%, and it's up approximately 15.39% in the last one year (as of 01/28/2025). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $73.65 and $95.17.
The fund has a beta of 1.35 and standard deviation of 25.16% for the trailing three-year period, which makes XTN a high risk choice in this particular space. With about 46 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.
Alternatives
SPDR S&P Transportation ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Industrials ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
IShares U.S. Transportation ETF (IYT - Free Report) tracks Dow Jones Transportation Average Index and the U.S. Global Jets ETF (JETS - Free Report) tracks U.S. Global Jets Index. IShares U.S. Transportation ETF has $783.88 million in assets, U.S. Global Jets ETF has $1.10 billion. IYT has an expense ratio of 0.39% and JETS charges 0.60%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Industrials 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.