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Is SPDR NYSE Technology ETF (XNTK) a Strong ETF Right Now?

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Making its debut on 09/25/2000, smart beta exchange traded fund SPDR NYSE Technology ETF (XNTK - 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.

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.

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

Because the fund has amassed over $1.01 billion, this makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Technology ETFs. XNTK is managed by State Street Global Advisors. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the NYSE Technology Index before fees and expenses.

The NYSE Technology Index is composed of 35 leading U.S.-listed technology-related companies.

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.

With one of the least expensive products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.35%.

It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 0.36%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

For XNTK, it has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector --about 69.50% of the portfolio --while Consumer Discretionary and Telecom round out the top three.

When you look at individual holdings, Palantir Technologies Inc A (PLTR - Free Report) accounts for about 4.35% of the fund's total assets, followed by Alibaba Group Holding Sp Adr (BABA - Free Report) and Uber Technologies Inc (UBER - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 34.94% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has gained about 6.19% and is up roughly 14.92% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 05/27/2025), respectively. XNTK has traded between $164.46 and $228.87 during this last 52-week period.

The fund has a beta of 1.32 and standard deviation of 27.86% for the trailing three-year period. With about 36 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.

Alternatives

SPDR NYSE Technology 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.

Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK - Free Report) tracks Technology Select Sector Index and the Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT - Free Report) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Information Technology 25/50 Index. Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF has $70.58 billion in assets, Vanguard Information Technology ETF has $83.93 billion. XLK has an expense ratio of 0.08% and VGT charges 0.09%.

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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