We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience.
This includes personalizing content and advertising.
By pressing "Accept All" or closing out of this banner, you consent to the use of all cookies and similar technologies and the sharing of information they collect with third parties.
You can reject marketing cookies by pressing "Deny Optional," but we still use essential, performance, and functional cookies.
In addition, whether you "Accept All," Deny Optional," click the X or otherwise continue to use the site, you accept our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, revised from time to time.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Is State Street SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Read MoreHide Full Article
The State Street SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI - Free Report) made its debut on 01/31/2006, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Health Care ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.
By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by State Street Investment Management. XBI has been able to amass assets over $7.49 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs in the Health Care ETFs. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the S&P Biotechnology Select Industry Index before fees and expenses.
The S&P Biotechnology Select Industry Index represents the biotechnology sub-industry portion of the S&P Total Markets Index. The S&P TMI tracks all the U.S. common stocks listed on the NYSE, AMEX, NASDAQ National Market and NASDAQ Small Cap exchanges. The Biotech Index is a modified equal weight index.
Cost & Other Expenses
Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.35%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 0.04%.
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.
Representing 100% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Healthcare sector.
Looking at individual holdings, Crispr Therapeutics Ag (CRSP) accounts for about 2.48% of total assets, followed by Moderna Inc (MRNA) and Insmed Inc (INSM).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 19.54% of XBI's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has gained about 27.94% and it's up approximately 25.3% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 11/19/2025), respectively. XBI has traded between $69.80 and $115.18 during this last 52-week period.
XBI has a beta of 0.95 and standard deviation of 27.12% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a high risk choice in the space. With about 136 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
State Street SPDR S&P Biotech ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Health Care ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology ETF (FBT) tracks NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index and the iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) tracks Nasdaq Biotechnology Index. First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology ETF has $1.24 billion in assets, iShares Biotechnology ETF has $7.56 billion. FBT has an expense ratio of 0.54% and IBB changes 0.44%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Health Care 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.
See More Zacks Research for These Tickers
Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:
Image: Bigstock
Is State Street SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) a Strong ETF Right Now?
The State Street SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI - Free Report) made its debut on 01/31/2006, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Health Care ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
For a long time now, the ETF industry has been flooded with products based on market capitalization weighted indexes, which are designed to represent the broader market or a particular market segment.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.
By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by State Street Investment Management. XBI has been able to amass assets over $7.49 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs in the Health Care ETFs. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the S&P Biotechnology Select Industry Index before fees and expenses.
The S&P Biotechnology Select Industry Index represents the biotechnology sub-industry portion of the S&P Total Markets Index. The S&P TMI tracks all the U.S. common stocks listed on the NYSE, AMEX, NASDAQ National Market and NASDAQ Small Cap exchanges. The Biotech Index is a modified equal weight index.
Cost & Other Expenses
Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.35%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 0.04%.
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.
Representing 100% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Healthcare sector.
Looking at individual holdings, Crispr Therapeutics Ag (CRSP) accounts for about 2.48% of total assets, followed by Moderna Inc (MRNA) and Insmed Inc (INSM).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 19.54% of XBI's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has gained about 27.94% and it's up approximately 25.3% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 11/19/2025), respectively. XBI has traded between $69.80 and $115.18 during this last 52-week period.
XBI has a beta of 0.95 and standard deviation of 27.12% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a high risk choice in the space. With about 136 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
State Street SPDR S&P Biotech ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Health Care ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology ETF (FBT) tracks NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index and the iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) tracks Nasdaq Biotechnology Index. First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology ETF has $1.24 billion in assets, iShares Biotechnology ETF has $7.56 billion. FBT has an expense ratio of 0.54% and IBB changes 0.44%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Health Care 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.