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Is SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Financials ETFs category of the market, the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 06/19/2006.
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.
However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: smart beta.
This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix of such characteristics.
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 sponsored by State Street Investment Management. It has amassed assets over $4.03 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Financials ETFs. KRE, 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.
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 2.49%.
Sector Exposure and 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.
KRE's heaviest allocation is in the Financials sector, which is about 100% of the portfolio.
When you look at individual holdings, Citizens Financial Group (CFG) accounts for about 2.78% of the fund's total assets, followed by Regions Financial Corp (RF) and Zions Bancorp Na (ZION).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 25.91% of KRE's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF has gained about 7.27% so far, and it's up approximately 16.51% over the last 12 months (as of 09/30/2025). KRE has traded between $48.81 $68.90 in this past 52-week period.
KRE has a beta of 0.93 and standard deviation of 31.68% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a high risk choice in the space. With about 144 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Financials ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Invesco KBW Regional Banking ETF (KBWR) tracks KBW Nasdaq Regional Banking Index and the iShares U.S. Regional Banks ETF (IAT) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Select Regional Banks Index. Invesco KBW Regional Banking ETF has $51.84 million in assets, iShares U.S. Regional Banks ETF has $686.53 million. KBWR has an expense ratio of 0.35% and IAT changes 0.38%.
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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Is SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Designed to provide broad exposure to the Financials ETFs category of the market, the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 06/19/2006.
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.
However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: smart beta.
This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix of such characteristics.
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 sponsored by State Street Investment Management. It has amassed assets over $4.03 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Financials ETFs. KRE, 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.
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 2.49%.
Sector Exposure and 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.
KRE's heaviest allocation is in the Financials sector, which is about 100% of the portfolio.
When you look at individual holdings, Citizens Financial Group (CFG) accounts for about 2.78% of the fund's total assets, followed by Regions Financial Corp (RF) and Zions Bancorp Na (ZION).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 25.91% of KRE's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF has gained about 7.27% so far, and it's up approximately 16.51% over the last 12 months (as of 09/30/2025). KRE has traded between $48.81 $68.90 in this past 52-week period.
KRE has a beta of 0.93 and standard deviation of 31.68% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a high risk choice in the space. With about 144 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Financials ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Invesco KBW Regional Banking ETF (KBWR) tracks KBW Nasdaq Regional Banking Index and the iShares U.S. Regional Banks ETF (IAT) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Select Regional Banks Index. Invesco KBW Regional Banking ETF has $51.84 million in assets, iShares U.S. Regional Banks ETF has $686.53 million. KBWR has an expense ratio of 0.35% and IAT changes 0.38%.
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.