Is State Street SPDR S&P Software & Services ETF (XSW) a Strong ETF Right Now?

Core Insights - The State Street SPDR S&P Software & Services ETF (XSW) is a smart beta ETF launched on September 28, 2011, providing broad exposure to the Technology ETFs category [1] Fund Overview - XSW is managed by State Street Investment Management and has accumulated over $444.12 million in assets, categorizing it as an average-sized ETF within the Technology sector [5] - The fund aims to match the performance of the S&P Software & Services Select Industry Index, which represents the software sub-industry of the S&P Total Stock Market Index [6] Cost Structure - XSW has annual operating expenses of 0.35%, making it one of the least expensive options in its category, with a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.06% [7] Sector Exposure and Holdings - The ETF has a significant allocation to the Information Technology sector, representing 97% of its portfolio [8] - Cipher Mining Inc (CIFR) constitutes about 1.41% of the fund's total assets, with the top 10 holdings accounting for approximately 11.45% of XSW's total assets under management [9] Performance Metrics - As of December 24, 2025, XSW has gained roughly 1.22% year-to-date but is down about -1.03% over the past year, trading between $141.65 and $205.24 in the last 52 weeks [11] - The fund has a beta of 1.15 and a standard deviation of 24.81% over the trailing three-year period, indicating a higher risk profile [11] Alternatives - Other ETFs in the technology space include Invesco AI and Next Gen Software ETF (IGPT) with $650.87 million in assets and iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) with $8.26 billion in assets [13] - IGPT has an expense ratio of 0.56%, while IGV has a lower expense ratio of 0.39% [13]