The SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) made its debut on 01/31/2006, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Technology ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.
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.
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.
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
The fund is managed by State Street Global Advisors. XSD has been able to amass assets over $1.52 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Technology ETFs. XSD seeks to match the performance of the S&P Semiconductor Select Industry Index before fees and expenses.
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
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are 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.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 0.31%.
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 100% of the portfolio, the fund has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector.
Taking into account individual holdings, Synaptics Inc (SYNA) accounts for about 3.23% of the fund's total assets, followed by Rambus Inc (RMBS) and Broadcom Inc (AVGO).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 30.02% of XSD's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF return is roughly 35.35% so far, and was up about 35.11% over the last 12 months (as of 12/26/2023). XSD has traded between $161.43 and $231.97 in this past 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 1.42 and standard deviation of 36.87% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 40 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.
Alternatives
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 $10.12 billion in assets, VanEck Semiconductor ETF has $11.38 billion. SOXX has an expense ratio of 0.35% and SMH charges 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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Get it free >>SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD): ETF Research Reports
Rambus, Inc. (RMBS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Synaptics Incorporated (SYNA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH): ETF Research Reports
iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX): ETF Research Reports
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