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Should You Invest in the Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI)?

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Launched on 12/16/1998, the Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Industrials - Broad 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. Industrials - Broad is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 10, placing it in bottom 38%.

Index Details

The fund is sponsored by State Street Global Advisors. It has amassed assets over $21.96 billion, making it the largest ETF attempting to match the performance of the Industrials - Broad segment of the equity market. XLI seeks to match the performance of the Industrial Select Sector Index before fees and expenses.

The Industrial Select Sector Index includes companies from the following industries: industrial conglomerates; aerospace & defense; machinery; air freight & logistics; road & rail; commercial services & supplies; electrical equipment; construction & engineering; building products; airlines; and trading companies & distributors.

Costs

Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.09%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.38%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Industrials sector--about 100% of the portfolio.

Looking at individual holdings, General Electric (GE - Free Report) accounts for about 4.47% of total assets, followed by Caterpillar Inc (CAT - Free Report) and Rtx Corp (RTX - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 34.74% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has added about 4.07% and is up roughly 20.94% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 02/06/2025), respectively. XLI has traded between $115.92 and $143.99 during this last 52-week period.

The ETF has a beta of 1.09 and standard deviation of 16.93% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 81 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, XLI is an excellent option for investors seeking exposure to the Industrials ETFs segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ETF (AIRR - Free Report) tracks Richard Bernstein Advisors American Industrial Renaissance Index and the Vanguard Industrials ETF (VIS - Free Report) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Industrials 25/50 Index. First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ETF has $3.51 billion in assets, Vanguard Industrials ETF has $5.83 billion. AIRR has an expense ratio of 0.70% and VIS charges 0.10%.

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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