Year-to-date, flows to sector exchange traded funds have been mixed. Five of the nine sector SPDRs issued by State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) have lost assets, but that does not tell the entire story.
Predictably, rate-sensitive sector funds, including the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLP) and the Utilities Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLU), have lost assets. However, XLP is up 6.4 percent this year and flirting with all-time highs. XLU, though down on the year, has improved in recent weeks against the backdrop of investors expecting interest rates to remain low for the foreseeable future.
Although a frequently-heard battle cry of ETF supporters is that ETFs trump stock picking, data suggest that with sector ETFs, that is much more than a clarion call. The Energy Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLE) ...
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