Is State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF (XAR) a Strong ETF Right Now?

Core Insights - The State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF (XAR) debuted on September 28, 2011, and provides broad exposure to the Industrials ETFs category [1] - XAR has amassed over $4.39 billion in assets, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Industrials sector [5] - The ETF seeks to match the performance of the S&P Aerospace & Defense Select Industry Index, which is a modified equal weight index [6] Fund Characteristics - XAR is managed by State Street Investment Management and has annual operating expenses of 0.35%, with a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.62% [7] - The fund has a heavy allocation to the Industrials sector, with Aerovironment Inc (AVAV) accounting for about 4.98% of total assets [8][9] - The top 10 holdings represent approximately 39.33% of the fund's total assets under management [9] Performance Metrics - As of November 17, 2025, XAR has added roughly 38.03% year-to-date and is up approximately 38.64% over the past year [11] - The ETF has traded between $144.94 and $251.24 during the last 52-week period, with a beta of 1.13 and a standard deviation of 20.13% for the trailing three-year period, indicating medium risk [11] Alternatives - Other ETFs in the aerospace and defense space include Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF (PPA) and iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA), with assets of $6.56 billion and $12.01 billion respectively [13] - PPA has an expense ratio of 0.58% while ITA has an expense ratio of 0.38% [13]