Launched on 11/08/2005, the SPDR S&P Insurance ETF (KIE) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering broad exposure to the Financials ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.
Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.
There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.
These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.
Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by State Street Global Advisors, and has been able to amass over $913.28 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Financials ETFs. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the S&P Insurance Select Industry Index.
The S&P Insurance Select Industry Index represents the insurance segment of the S&P Total Market Index.
Cost & Other Expenses
When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor. And, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins in the long term if all other factors remain equal.
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 1.47%.
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.
For KIE, it has heaviest allocation in the Financials sector --about 100% of the portfolio.
When you look at individual holdings, Globe Life Inc (GL) accounts for about 2.02% of the fund's total assets, followed by Erie Indemnity Company Cl A (ERIE) and Metlife Inc (MET).
KIE's top 10 holdings account for about 19.68% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF return is roughly 0.88% and it's up approximately 22.03% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 01/23/2025), respectively. KIE has traded between $46.85 and $62.03 during this last 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 0.87 and standard deviation of 18.02% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 55 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
SPDR S&P Insurance ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Financials ETFs segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
Invesco KBW Property & Casualty Insurance ETF (KBWP) tracks KBW Nasdaq Property & Casualty Index and the iShares U.S. Insurance ETF (IAK) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Select Insurance Index. Invesco KBW Property & Casualty Insurance ETF has $430.64 million in assets, iShares U.S. Insurance ETF has $740.02 million. KBWP has an expense ratio of 0.35% and IAK charges 0.39%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Financials ETFs.
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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Get it free >>SPDR S&P Insurance ETF (KIE): ETF Research Reports
MetLife, Inc. (MET) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Erie Indemnity Company (ERIE) : Free Stock Analysis Report
iShares U.S. Insurance ETF (IAK): ETF Research Reports
Invesco KBW Property & Casualty Insurance ETF (KBWP): ETF Research Reports
Globe Life Inc. (GL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
