Should You Invest in the State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT)?

The State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) was launched on June 19, 2006, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Consumer Discretionary - Retail segment of the equity market.Retail and institutional investors increasingly turn to passively managed ETFs because they offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; these kind of funds are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.Sector ETFs also provide investors access to a broad group of companies in particular sectors that offer low risk and diversified exposure. Consumer Discretionary - Retail is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 10, placing it in bottom 38%.Index DetailsThe fund is sponsored by State Street Investment Management. It has amassed assets over $492.28 million, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Consumer Discretionary - Retail segment of the equity market. XRT 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.CostsExpense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts, other things remaining the same.Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.35%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.76%.Sector Exposure and Top HoldingsEven though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Consumer Discretionary sector -- about 78.6% of the portfolio, followed by Consumer Staples.Looking at individual holdings, Victoria S Secret + Co (VSCO) accounts for about 2.61% of total assets, followed by Realreal Inc/the (REAL) and Kohls Corp (KSS).The top 10 holdings account for about 18.76% of total assets under management.Performance and RiskSo far this year, XRT return is roughly 1.93%, and it's up approximately 9.94% in the last one year (as of 01/06/2026). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $62.11 and $88.76.The ETF has a beta of 1.17 and standard deviation of 22.99% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 79 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.AlternativesState Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, XRT is a good option for those seeking exposure to the Consumer Discretionary ETFs area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.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 $148.20 million in assets, VanEck Retail ETF has $249.86 million. IBUY has an expense ratio of 0.65%, and RTH charges 0.35%.Bottom LineTo 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.Boost Your Portfolio with Our Top ETF InsightsZacks' exclusive Fund Newsletter delivers actionable information, top news and analysis, as well as top-performing ETFs, straight to your inbox every week.Don’t miss out on this valuable resource. It’s free!Get it now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks