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Should You Invest in the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI)?
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The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI - Free Report) was launched on 01/31/2006, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Healthcare - Biotech 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.
Sector ETFs are also funds of convenience, offering many ways to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Healthcare - Biotech is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 5, placing it in top 31%.
Index Details
The fund is sponsored by State Street Global Advisors. It has amassed assets over $7.78 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Healthcare - Biotech segment of the equity market. XBI seeks to match the performance of the S&P Biotechnology Select Industry Index before fees and expenses.
The S&P Biotechnology Select Industry Index represents the biotechnology 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 Biotech Index is a modified equal weight index.
Costs
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts if all other fundamentals are 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 0.13%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Healthcare sector--about 100% of the portfolio.
Looking at individual holdings, Novavax Inc (NVAX - Free Report) accounts for about 2.80% of total assets, followed by Insmed Inc (INSM - Free Report) and Twist Bioscience Corp (TWST - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 16.39% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF return is roughly 11.07% so far this year and was up about 17.68% in the last one year (as of 08/01/2024). In that past 52-week period, it has traded between $64.12 and $102.89.
The ETF has a beta of 0.95 and standard deviation of 34.98% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 138 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
SPDR S&P Biotech ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, XBI is a sufficient option for those seeking exposure to the Health Care ETFs area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.
First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology ETF (FBT - Free Report) tracks NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index and the iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB - Free Report) tracks Nasdaq Biotechnology Index. First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology ETF has $1.16 billion in assets, iShares Biotechnology ETF has $7.91 billion. FBT has an expense ratio of 0.56% and IBB charges 0.45%.
Bottom Line
To 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.
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Should You Invest in the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI)?
The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI - Free Report) was launched on 01/31/2006, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Healthcare - Biotech 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.
Sector ETFs are also funds of convenience, offering many ways to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Healthcare - Biotech is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 5, placing it in top 31%.
Index Details
The fund is sponsored by State Street Global Advisors. It has amassed assets over $7.78 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Healthcare - Biotech segment of the equity market. XBI seeks to match the performance of the S&P Biotechnology Select Industry Index before fees and expenses.
The S&P Biotechnology Select Industry Index represents the biotechnology 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 Biotech Index is a modified equal weight index.
Costs
Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts if all other fundamentals are 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 0.13%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Healthcare sector--about 100% of the portfolio.
Looking at individual holdings, Novavax Inc (NVAX - Free Report) accounts for about 2.80% of total assets, followed by Insmed Inc (INSM - Free Report) and Twist Bioscience Corp (TWST - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 16.39% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF return is roughly 11.07% so far this year and was up about 17.68% in the last one year (as of 08/01/2024). In that past 52-week period, it has traded between $64.12 and $102.89.
The ETF has a beta of 0.95 and standard deviation of 34.98% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 138 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
SPDR S&P Biotech ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, XBI is a sufficient option for those seeking exposure to the Health Care ETFs area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.
First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology ETF (FBT - Free Report) tracks NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index and the iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB - Free Report) tracks Nasdaq Biotechnology Index. First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology ETF has $1.16 billion in assets, iShares Biotechnology ETF has $7.91 billion. FBT has an expense ratio of 0.56% and IBB charges 0.45%.
Bottom Line
To 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.