Is State Street SPDR S&P Transportation ETF (XTN) a Strong ETF Right Now?

Making its debut on 01/26/2011, smart beta exchange traded fund State Street SPDR S&P Transportation ETF (XTN) provides investors broad exposure to the Industrials ETFs category of the market.What Are Smart Beta ETFs?The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment.Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.Fund Sponsor & IndexThe fund is managed by State Street Investment Management. XTN has been able to amass assets over $259.27 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Industrials ETFs. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the S&P Transportation Select Industry Index.The S&P Transportation Select Industry Index represents the transportation segment of the S&P Total Market Index.Cost & Other ExpensesExpense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long-term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins, 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 0.81%.Sector Exposure and Top HoldingsMost ETFs are very transparent products, and disclose their holdings on a daily basis. ETFs also offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, though it's still important for investors to research a fund's holdings.XTN's heaviest allocation is in the Industrials sector, which is about 100% of the portfolio.Looking at individual holdings, Arcbest Corp (ARCB) accounts for about 3.5% of total assets, followed by Southwest Airlines Co (LUV) and Xpo Inc (XPO).The top 10 holdings account for about 30.21% of total assets under management.Performance and RiskThe ETF has lost about -2.86% so far this year and it's up approximately 19.4% in the last one year (as of 03/17/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $62.77 and $106.10XTN has a beta of 1.35 and standard deviation of 25.07% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a high risk choice in the space. With about 46 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers .AlternativesState Street SPDR S&P Transportation ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Industrials ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.First Trust NASDAQ Transportation ETF (FTXR) tracks Nasdaq US Smart Transportation Index and the iShares U.S. Transportation ETF (IYT) tracks Dow Jones Transportation Average Index. First Trust NASDAQ Transportation ETF has $819.57 million in assets, iShares U.S. Transportation ETF has $944.52 million. FTXR has an expense ratio of 0.60% and IYT changes 0.38%.Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Industrials ETFsBottom 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 Transportation ETF (XTN): 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