Should You Invest in the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD)?

If you're interested in broad exposure to the Technology - Semiconductors segment of the equity market, look no further than the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on January 31, 2006.An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.Additionally, sector ETFs offer convenient ways to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Technology - Semiconductors is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 3, placing it in top 19%.Index DetailsThe fund is sponsored by State Street Investment Management. It has amassed assets over $1.71 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Technology - Semiconductors segment of the equity market. 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.CostsWhen considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts in the long term if all other factors remain equal.Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.35%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.22%.Sector Exposure and Top HoldingsIt is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector -- about 100% of the portfolio.Looking at individual holdings, Rigetti Computing Inc (RGTI) accounts for about 7.24% of total assets, followed by Intel Corp (INTC) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).The top 10 holdings account for about 36.31% of total assets under management.Performance and RiskThe ETF return is roughly 31.35% and was up about 33.48% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 11/12/2025), respectively. XSD has traded between $160.63 and $353.65 during this last 52-week period.The ETF has a beta of 1.64 and standard deviation of 36.53% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 42 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.AlternativesState Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, XSD is an excellent option for investors seeking exposure to the Technology ETFs segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that 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 $16.63 billion in assets, VanEck Semiconductor ETF has $36.62 billion. SOXX has an expense ratio of 0.34%, and SMH 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 Semiconductor ETF (XSD): 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