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Is State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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A smart beta exchange traded fund, the State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT - Free Report) debuted on 06/19/2006, and offers broad exposure to the Consumer Discretionary ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.
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.
On the other hand, some investors who believe that it is possible to beat the market by superior stock selection opt to invest in another class of funds that track non-cap weighted strategies--popularly known as smart beta.
These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination 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 managed by State Street Investment Management. XRT has been able to amass assets over $548.9 million, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Consumer Discretionary ETFs. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the S&P Retail Select Industry Index before fees and expenses.
The S&P Retail Select Industry Index represents the retail sub-industry portion of the S&P TMI. 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 Retail Index is a modified equal weight index.
Cost & Other Expenses
Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long-term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins, other things remaining the same.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.35% for this ETF, which makes it one of the cheaper products in the space.
XRT's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 0.81%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Representing 76.7% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Consumer Discretionary sector; Consumer Staples and Energy round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Camping World Holdings Inc A (CWH) accounts for about 1.79% of total assets, followed by Pricesmart Inc (PSMT) and Casey S General Stores Inc (CASY).
XRT's top 10 holdings account for about 16.85% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, XRT has lost about -4.16%, and is up roughly 19.39% in the last one year (as of 03/12/2026). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $62.11 and $90.88.
The ETF has a beta of 1.26 and standard deviation of 22.37% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 75 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Consumer Discretionary ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Amplify Online Retail ETF (IBUY) tracks EQM Online Retail Index and the VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) tracks MVIS US Listed Retail 25 Index. Amplify Online Retail ETF has $125.56 million in assets, VanEck Retail ETF has $260.85 million. IBUY has an expense ratio of 0.65% and RTH changes 0.35%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Consumer Discretionary 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 State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) a Strong ETF Right Now?
A smart beta exchange traded fund, the State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT - Free Report) debuted on 06/19/2006, and offers broad exposure to the Consumer Discretionary ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.
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.
On the other hand, some investors who believe that it is possible to beat the market by superior stock selection opt to invest in another class of funds that track non-cap weighted strategies--popularly known as smart beta.
These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination 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 managed by State Street Investment Management. XRT has been able to amass assets over $548.9 million, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Consumer Discretionary ETFs. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the S&P Retail Select Industry Index before fees and expenses.
The S&P Retail Select Industry Index represents the retail sub-industry portion of the S&P TMI. 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 Retail Index is a modified equal weight index.
Cost & Other Expenses
Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long-term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins, other things remaining the same.
Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.35% for this ETF, which makes it one of the cheaper products in the space.
XRT's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 0.81%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Representing 76.7% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Consumer Discretionary sector; Consumer Staples and Energy round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Camping World Holdings Inc A (CWH) accounts for about 1.79% of total assets, followed by Pricesmart Inc (PSMT) and Casey S General Stores Inc (CASY).
XRT's top 10 holdings account for about 16.85% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, XRT has lost about -4.16%, and is up roughly 19.39% in the last one year (as of 03/12/2026). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $62.11 and $90.88.
The ETF has a beta of 1.26 and standard deviation of 22.37% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 75 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Consumer Discretionary ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Amplify Online Retail ETF (IBUY) tracks EQM Online Retail Index and the VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) tracks MVIS US Listed Retail 25 Index. Amplify Online Retail ETF has $125.56 million in assets, VanEck Retail ETF has $260.85 million. IBUY has an expense ratio of 0.65% and RTH changes 0.35%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Consumer Discretionary 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.