Is State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) a Strong ETF Right Now?

Core Insights - The State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) is a smart beta ETF launched on January 31, 2006, designed to provide broad exposure to the Technology ETFs category [1] - The fund has accumulated over $1.46 billion in assets, making it one of the larger ETFs in the Technology sector [5] - XSD seeks to match the performance of the S&P Semiconductor Select Industry Index, which represents the semiconductor sub-industry portion of the S&P Total Markets Index [6] Fund Management and Costs - Managed by State Street Investment Management, XSD has annual operating expenses of 0.35%, positioning it as one of the least expensive options in its category [7] - The fund offers a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.25% [7] Sector Exposure and Holdings - The ETF has a heavy allocation to the Information Technology sector, representing 100% of its portfolio [8] - Rigetti Computing Inc (RGTI) constitutes approximately 7.24% of total assets, with Intel Corp (INTC) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) also among the top holdings [9] - The top 10 holdings account for about 36.31% of XSD's total assets under management [9] Performance Metrics - As of November 21, 2025, the ETF has gained approximately 16.11% and was up about 24.97% year-to-date [11] - XSD has traded between $160.63 and $353.65 over the past 52 weeks, with a beta of 1.64 and a standard deviation of 36.55% for the trailing three-year period, indicating high risk [11] Alternatives in the Market - Other ETFs in the semiconductor space include iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) and VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH), with assets of $14.83 billion and $33.66 billion respectively [13] - SOXX has an expense ratio of 0.34% while SMH charges 0.35%, providing investors with alternative options [13]