Launched on 09/28/2011, the SPDR S&P Software & Services ETF (XSW) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Technology - Software segment of the equity market.
Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are excellent vehicles for long term investors.
Investor-friendly, sector ETFs provide many options to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Technology - Software 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 $525 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Technology - Software segment of the equity market. XSW seeks to match the performance of the S&P Software & Services Select Industry Index before fees and expenses.
The S&P Software & Services Select Industry Index represents the software sub-industry portion of the S&P Total Stock Market Index. The S&P TMI tracks all the U.S. common stocks listed on the NYSE, AMEX, NASDAQ National Market and NASDAQ Global Select Market. The Software 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 0.10%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector--about 96.70% of the portfolio.
Looking at individual holdings, Porch Group Inc (PRCH) accounts for about 1.28% of total assets, followed by Microstrategy Inc Cl A (MSTR) and Nextnav Inc (NN).
The top 10 holdings account for about 9.75% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has lost about -2.06% so far this year and it's up approximately 28.73% in the last one year (as of 06/05/2025). In that past 52-week period, it has traded between $141.65 and $204.72.
The ETF has a beta of 1.18 and standard deviation of 27.95% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 140 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
SPDR S&P Software & Services ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, XSW is an outstanding option for investors seeking exposure to the Technology ETFs segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.
Invesco AI and Next Gen Software ETF (IGPT) tracks STOXX WORLD AC NEXGEN SOFTWARE DEV ID and the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) tracks S&P North American Technology-Software Index. Invesco AI and Next Gen Software ETF has $435.02 million in assets, iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF has $11.56 billion. IGPT has an expense ratio of 0.58% and IGV charges 0.41%.
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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SPDR S&P Software & Services ETF (XSW): ETF Research Reports MicroStrategy Incorporated (MSTR): Free Stock Analysis Report iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV): ETF Research Reports Porch Group, Inc. (PRCH): Free Stock Analysis Report NextNav Inc. (NN): Free Stock Analysis Report Invesco AI and Next Gen Software ETF (IGPT): ETF Research ReportsThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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