SPDR (“spider”) refers to the family of ETFs from State Street Global Advisors. SPDR ETFs are some of the oldest, most popular index funds out there. Here we'll check out some of the best SPDR ETFs.
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Contents
Introduction – SPDR ETFs
SPDR ETFs are some of the oldest products in the game. Two of them – SPY and GLD, for the S&P 500 index and spot price of gold bullion, respectively – were the largest and second-largest ETFs in recent history.
SPDR actually stands for Standard & Poor's depository receipt, now called SPY. It was the very first ETF in existence, created in 1993.
SPDR ETFs boast extremely high liquidity and extremely low tracking error. Day traders prefer SPDR products for these reasons. Even long-term investors continue to pay usually-higher fees for SPDR funds due to their solid track record.
Let's dive into the best SPDR ETFs
SPY – SPDR S&P 500 ETF
SPY has historically been – and still is – the largest ETF out there and is also one of the oldest (started in 1993), built to track the famous S&P 500 index, at which it's always done a great job. As mentioned, day traders continue to heavily trade SPY and derivatives on it. Long-term investors may prefer cheaper alternatives like VOO from Vanguard.
GLD – SPDR Gold Trust
Similarly, GLD has historically been the second-largest ETF. This ETF seeks to track the spot price of gold bullion. At one time, it was the only fund that was available to do so. GLD continues to be the most popular gold ETF.
DIA – SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF
DIA from SPDR seeks to track the famous Dow Jones Industrial Average Index. With his index and ETF are less popular now than they were in the past, but it's still a way to access the largest companies in the United States.
BIL – SPDR Barclays 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF
BIL is the most popular T Bill fund with over $12 billion in assets. This fund is likely the truest “cash equivalent” available.
Other Popular SPDR ETFs
Beyond the above, SPDR has some extremely popular sector funds, all costing around 12 basis points at the time of writing:
- XLK – Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund
- XLF – Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund
- XLV – Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund
- XLE – Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund
- XLY – Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund
- XLI – Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund
- XLC – Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund
- XLU – Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund
- XLP – Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund
Where To Buy These SPDR ETFs
Luckily, all the above SPDR ETFs should be available at any major broker. My choice is M1 Finance. The broker has zero trade commissions and zero account fees, and offers fractional shares, dynamic rebalancing, intuitive pie visualization, and a sleek, user-friendly interface and mobile app. I wrote a comprehensive review of M1 Finance here.
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Hey John, would you consider doing an article on some new Simplify ETFs:
1) Simplify US Equity PLUS Convexity ETF (SPYC)
2) … PLUS Downside (SPD)
3) … PLUS Upside (SPUC)
Maybe compare them to NTSX?
It seems like one would be to hedge against expects interest rate rises, the other against expected decreases, but I don’t understand which is which and I don’t understand the plain ‘convexity’ one vs. those.
I’ve tried reading up on what convexity is and trying to understand their description of what they’re doing… I understand you better than all these other websites / forums. Thank you very much.
Sure thing, I might look into SPD. Sounds like it’s just S&P 500 plus put options as crash insurance. The other 2 have concerningly-low AUM.
Rob, I finally got around to covering SPD. I don’t hate it.