State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF
$41.87+0.24 (+0.58%)
- 0.08%
- $24.1B
- −5.1%
- 2.91%
- 23.1M sh
- $41.40
- low $39.03high $47.80
The ETF.net XLU Grade
A
Score 75 out of 100
- 2 of 10
Score 75 of 100 falls in the A band. A is 70 or higher, B 55 to under 70, C 40 to under 55, D 25 to under 40, F under 25.
Cost
The fund’s net expense ratio, ranked against its category.A90 out of 100Rank 1 of 10Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.A87 out of 100Rank 4 of 6Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.D36 out of 100Rank 10 of 10Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.A91 out of 100Rank 1 of 10Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.D34 out of 100Rank 10 of 10Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.A76 out of 100Rank 2 of 10
Our read on XLU
AOne of the original sector ETFs (1998), XLU is the plain way to own the S&P 500's utilities: roughly 30 electric, gas and water names, eight basis points a year, and one of the deepest trading markets in the category.
The fund seeks to track, before expenses, the price and yield performance of the Utilities Select Sector Index.
Why people hold it
- 0.08% a year, against a utilities-fund median closer to 0.37%. Only FUTY matches it; VPU sits a basis point behind.
- Among the most actively traded funds in its category, with a market that has been running since 1998.
- A straight index build: it holds the utilities slice of the S&P 500 and tracks that index closely. Pays quarterly.ssga.com
- Cheap, liquid and tightly run, it stands among the strongest implementations in the broad utilities group.
Worth knowing
- About 30 names, all S&P 500 members. The largest utilities carry real weight, and mid and small caps sit outside the mandate; FUTY and VPU cast a wider net.ssga.com
- One sector, one country. It moves with US utilities rather than the broad market, and that concentration cuts both ways.
- Cash lands quarterly, not monthly, which matters if you are timing income.
XLU Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
XLU$9,493
Returns run to the Oct 12, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
| Period | XLU |
|---|---|
| Year to date | −0.5% |
| 1 month | −1.1% |
| 3 months | −7.6% |
| 1 year | −5.1% |
| 3 years | +15.8% |
| 5 years | +8.5% |
| 10 years | +9.2% |
Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.
| Year | Return bar | XLU |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | −0.5% | |
| 2025 | +16.0% | |
| 2024 | +23.3% | |
| 2023 | −7.2% | |
| 2022 | +1.4% | |
| 2021 | +17.7% | |
| 2020 | +0.6% |
XLU in the news
XLU Dividends
- 2.91%
- $1.21
- $0.30 per share
- Quarterly
Distribution history
XLU Risk
- 15.1%
How it’s calculated: standard deviation
The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.
- 0.62
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio
Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.
Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.
- −25.3%
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown
The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.
Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.
- 0.49
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
XLU Cost
0.08%
XLU0.08%
- The middle half of Utilities (Broad) funds
- Median 0.33%
No Utilities (Broad) fund charges less.
Other funds in Utilities (Broad)
- AFUTYFidelity MSCI Utilities Index ETFExpense ratio 0.08%1 year return −5.2%
- BVPUVanguard Utilities ETFExpense ratio 0.09%1 year return −5.3%
- BJXIiShares Global Utilities ETFExpense ratio 0.37%1 year return +2.7%
- BIDUiShares U.S. Utilities ETFExpense ratio 0.37%1 year return −4.6%
- BRSPUInvesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Utilities ETFExpense ratio 0.40%1 year return −3.1%