Launched on December 16, 1998, the State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Utilities – Broad segment of the equity market.
An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.
Additionally, sector ETFs offer convenient ways to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Utilities – Broad is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 8, placing it in top 50%.
Index Details
The fund is sponsored by State Street Investment Management. It has amassed assets over $24.37 billion, making it the largest ETF attempting to match the performance of the Utilities – Broad segment of the equity market. XLU seeks to match the performance of the Utilities Select Sector Index before fees and expenses.
The Utilities Select Sector Index seeks to provide an effective representation of the Utilities sector of the S&P 500 Index.
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 0.08%, making it the least expensive product in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 2.78%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Utilities sector — about 100% of the portfolio.
Looking at individual holdings, Nextera Energy Inc (NEE) accounts for about 12.42% of total assets, followed by Constellation Energy (CEG) and Southern Co/the (SO).
The top 10 holdings account for about 59.2% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF return is roughly 4.25% so far, and is up about 0.92% over the last 12 months (as of 11/05/2026). XLU has traded between $39.25 and $47.73 in this past 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 0.53 and standard deviation of 15.71% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 34 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.