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

The State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) was launched on January 31, 2006, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Technology - Semiconductors 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.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 2, placing it in top 13%.Index DetailsThe fund is sponsored by State Street Investment Management. It has amassed assets over $1.72 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.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 least expensive products in the space.It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.24%.Sector Exposure and Top HoldingsETFs offer a 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.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 4.26% of total assets, followed by Micron Technology Inc (MU) and Intel Corp (INTC).The top 10 holdings account for about 35.96% of total assets under management.Performance and RiskThe ETF has gained about 8.21% so far this year and it's up approximately 39.52% in the last one year (as of 01/13/2026). In that past 52-week period, it has traded between $160.63 and $353.65.The ETF has a beta of 1.63 and standard deviation of 36.4% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 41 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.AlternativesState Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, XSD is a great 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 $19.61 billion in assets, VanEck Semiconductor ETF has $41.51 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