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Is State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Technology ETFs category of the market, the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 01/31/2006.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.
Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.
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.
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.
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
Because the fund has amassed over $3.4 billion, this makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Technology ETFs. XSD is managed by State Street Investment Management. XSD, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the S&P Semiconductor Select Industry Index.
The S&P Semiconductor Select Industry Index represents the Semiconductor 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 Semiconductor Index is a modified equal weight index.
Cost & Other Expenses
For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain 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.
XSD's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 0.13%.
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.
XSD's heaviest allocation is in the Information Technology sector, which is about 100% of the portfolio.
When you look at individual holdings, Marvell Technology Inc (MRVL) accounts for about 3.21% of the fund's total assets, followed by Intel Corp (INTC) and Monolithic Power Systems Inc (MPWR).
The top 10 holdings account for about 29.67% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF return is roughly 96.13% so far this year and was up about 177.52% in the last one year (as of 05/29/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $221.13 and $632.23
The fund has a beta of 1.95 and standard deviation of 37.34% for the trailing three-year period, which makes XSD a high risk choice in this particular space. With about 46 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers .
Alternatives
State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor 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.
iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) tracks PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector Index and the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) tracks MVIS US Listed Semiconductor 25 Index. iShares Semiconductor ETF has $38.19 billion in assets, VanEck Semiconductor ETF has $69.11 billion. SOXX has an expense ratio of 0.34% and SMH 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 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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Is State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Designed to provide broad exposure to the Technology ETFs category of the market, the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 01/31/2006.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.
Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.
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.
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.
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
Because the fund has amassed over $3.4 billion, this makes it one of the larger ETFs in the Technology ETFs. XSD is managed by State Street Investment Management. XSD, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the S&P Semiconductor Select Industry Index.
The S&P Semiconductor Select Industry Index represents the Semiconductor 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 Semiconductor Index is a modified equal weight index.
Cost & Other Expenses
For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain 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.
XSD's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 0.13%.
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.
XSD's heaviest allocation is in the Information Technology sector, which is about 100% of the portfolio.
When you look at individual holdings, Marvell Technology Inc (MRVL) accounts for about 3.21% of the fund's total assets, followed by Intel Corp (INTC) and Monolithic Power Systems Inc (MPWR).
The top 10 holdings account for about 29.67% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF return is roughly 96.13% so far this year and was up about 177.52% in the last one year (as of 05/29/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $221.13 and $632.23
The fund has a beta of 1.95 and standard deviation of 37.34% for the trailing three-year period, which makes XSD a high risk choice in this particular space. With about 46 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers .
Alternatives
State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor 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.
iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) tracks PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector Index and the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) tracks MVIS US Listed Semiconductor 25 Index. iShares Semiconductor ETF has $38.19 billion in assets, VanEck Semiconductor ETF has $69.11 billion. SOXX has an expense ratio of 0.34% and SMH 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 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.