HACK vs PSWD

HACKCAmplify Cybersecurity ETF

PSWDBXtrackers Cybersecurity Select Equity ETF

In short

HACK Cybersecurity by the rulebook: HACK has tracked the Indxx Cybersecurity Index since 2014 and has grown into a multi-billion-dollar fund in a now-crowded corner of thematic investing.

PSWD Cybersecurity at a discount: PSWD charges 0.20% for a focused basket of about 50 security names, well under half the typical fee in its category. The trade-off is scale, not strategy: it's a small 2023 launch.

Stated mandate

HACK The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Indxx Cybersecurity Index.

PSWD The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Solactive Cyber Security ESG Screened Index.

Why people hold it

• HACK Live since November 2014, giving it a decade-plus of real-world history across several tech booms and drawdowns.
• Follows the published rules of the Indxx Cybersecurity Index rather than a manager's hunches, so you can see what drives the holdings.
• A multi-billion-dollar fund with steady day-to-day trading, which generally keeps spreads modest for ordinary-sized orders.
• Sits in the upper half of the cybersecurity ETF group, helped by calmer risk behavior and more staying power than the typical thematic one-off.

• PSWD Fee leader in the theme: 0.20% a year, against 0.47% for IHAK, 0.58% for CIBR and 0.60% for HACK. The category median sits at 0.50%.
• Pure-play and disciplined: roughly 50 cybersecurity companies drawn from a rules-based Solactive index, and the portfolio has tracked that benchmark closely.
• Runs on Xtrackers plumbing, the ETF arm of DWS, rather than a one-fund boutique.dws.com

Worth knowing

• HACK At 0.60% a year it prices above the 0.50% cybersecurity median, and BUG tracks the same declared index for 0.50%.
• One theme, one industry. When security and software spending falls out of favor, the portfolio has nowhere to hide.
• Not an income vehicle: distributions arrive only once or twice a year.

• PSWD Small asset base and light trading volume. Spreads can run wider than at the category's household names, which matters most on larger orders.
• The screen is not permanent: Xtrackers filed to drop the index's ESG screen and rename it the Solactive Cyber Security Focus Index.sec.gov
• One theme, about 50 holdings, non-diversified by design. Expect sharper swings than a broad technology fund.

Full HACK profile⁠

Full PSWD profile⁠