SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF

SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB), from State Street, tracks the S&P Homebuilders Select Industry Index: about three dozen U.S. homebuilders, building-product makers and home-related retailers. It gives each stock a roughly equal weight, so no single company dominates. The largest holding, Owens Corning, was 4.1% of assets as of June 30, 2026. Its 0.35% expense ratio is below the 0.46% average of similar funds.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, XHB returned -7.9%, 4th of 6 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +6.3%.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-28.9%); its best was 2023 (+60.1%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 39.5% (Dec 10, 2021 to Jun 16, 2022), recovered by Aug 1, 2023.

As of Jun 30, 2026, the fund held 35 securities; the ten largest made up 35.57% of assets. It also reported 3.01% in a money-market fund, most likely cash collateral from lending out shares rather than uninvested money.

• Over the three months to Jun 30, 2026, investors withdrew a net $58.4M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +7.38%, -3.24%, +12.86%.

XHB follows the S&P Homebuilders Select Industry Index, which is run by S&P Dow Jones Indices. The index starts from the S&P Total Market Index, which covers the broad U.S. stock market. It keeps U.S.-based companies in the Homebuilding sub-industry of the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS), a system that sorts companies by business, mainly by revenue. Each company must also pass size and trading tests. Generally, the value of its publicly available shares must be at least $500 million. If fewer than 35 homebuilders qualify, the index adds the largest qualifying companies in building products, home furnishings, home improvement retail, homefurnishing retail and household appliances. That's why Owens Corning, Masco and Williams-Sonoma sit alongside KB Home, Toll Brothers and PulteGroup. The index held 33 stocks as of July 31, 2026.

The index is "modified equal weighted": each stock gets roughly the same slice, whatever its size. As a result, the 10 largest positions made up only 35.6% of the fund as of June 30, 2026. The index rebalances quarterly, on the third Friday of March, June, September and December. Stocks are dropped if their market value falls below $300 million or their trading dries up.

The adviser, SSGA Funds Management, may hold a sample of the index stocks instead of all of them. It must keep at least 80% of assets in index stocks, and it may use futures and cash to manage money flowing in and out. The fund doesn't use leverage or options.

• XHB charges 0.35% a year, versus an average of 0.46% for the similar funds below (2nd of 6, cheapest first).
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $36 in the first year and $443 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

XHB is a concentrated bet on the U.S. housing cycle and interest rates, with swings well above those of the broad market.

XHB could add targeted exposure to U.S. housing, but expect a rough ride. In the 2022 bear market it fell 38.7% between January 4 and June 16, 2022, and didn't recover until July 2023, 13 months later. It lost 28.9% in calendar 2022 and 25.66% in 2018. Its worst quarter was a 34.46% drop in the first three months of 2020. Someone who had to sell shares or draw income after drops like these would lock in steep losses. Income is modest: the trailing yield was 1.19% as of October 27, 2026, paid quarterly. Costs are low for a sector fund. In the SEC's standard example, $10,000 invested would incur about $443 in expenses over 10 years. Past results don't predict future returns. A retirement plan should weigh the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by closest holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports (no similar fund shares 20% or more of its holdings).