What Sector SPDRs does

Sector SPDRs is a brand of exchange-traded funds managed by State Street Investment Management (formerly State Street Global Advisors), an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT). The product family is best known for dividing the S&P 500 into 11 sector index funds (including XLV for Health Care) and also encompasses fixed income products such as the SPDR Bloomberg Convertible Securities ETF (CWB) and active strategies such as the SPDR SSGA US Sector Rotation ETF (XLSR). Core technology is the ETF wrapper combined with index sampling strategies designed to match underlying benchmark performance, leveraging licensed indices from S&P Dow Jones Indices, Bloomberg/Barclays, and Dow Jones. The franchise was launched in 1993 with SPY, the first U.S. exchange-traded fund.

The business model is a fee-on-AUM subscription model: the firm generates revenue through expense ratios (e.g., 0.08% on XLV) charged annually on assets under management, with the distribution apparatus handled by State Street Global Advisors Funds Distributors (FINRA member) and ALPS Distributors for legacy unit investment trusts. Distribution is multi-channel, spanning NYSE-listed exchange trading for self-directed investors, intermediary and financial advisor networks, and direct institutional relationships with pension funds, endowments, and insurance companies. Core customers are organized into three segments: individual investors, institutional investors, and financial advisors/wealth managers. Customer concentration is intentionally low given the fund structure aggregates capital from many holders across each ETF. Geographic footprint is U.S.-only, with the website explicitly restricting non-U.S. investors.

Name

Sector SPDRs

Legal name

State Street Global Advisors Funds Distributors, LLC

Website

https://sectorspdrs.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Sector SPDRs is a brand of sector-specific exchange-traded funds managed by State Street Investment Management, dividing the S&P 500 into 11 sector index funds for individual investors, financial advisors, and institutional clients. Revenue is generated through expense ratios on assets under management.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Exchange-Traded Funds (Sector ETFs)

NAICS

Open-End Investment Funds (52591), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Securities and Commodity Contracts Intermediation and Brokerage (5231)

SIC

Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211), Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Sector & Industry Equity ETFs (FSAAAFAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Broad Market Equity ETFs (FSAAAFAA), Style/Factor Equity ETFs (Value, Growth, Quality, Low Vol, Momentum) (FSAAAFAB), Fixed Income ETFs (Government, Corporate, Munis, TIPS) (FSAAAFAD)

Keywords

• Sector ETFs
• Exchange-traded funds
• S&P 500 sectors
• Index tracking funds
• Equity sector investing

Headquarters

HQ city

Denver

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. ETF Management Fees (Expense Ratios): State Street Investment Management generates revenue through expense ratios charged on SPDR ETF assets under management. Fees are calculated as an annual percentage of total assets, with different products having varying expense ratios (e.g., 0.08% for XLV). The expense ratio covers fund management, administration, and distribution costs.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Sector SPDRs offers exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that divide the S&P 500 into 11 sector index funds, providing sector-specific and broad market exposure through products such as XLV (Health Care), CWB (Convertible Securities), and XLSR (Sector Rotation). The ETFs track indices including the S&P 500, sector-specific benchmarks, and fixed income indexes, employing index sampling strategies to match performance while trading on stock exchanges like stocks with intraday liquidity.

Product overview

State Street Investment Management (formerly State Street Global Advisors) offers the SPDR Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) lineup — a broad suite of sector-specific and factor-based ETFs providing diversified investment exposure across sectors and smart beta strategies. The portfolio includes sector-specific offerings such as the Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV), the SPDR Bloomberg Convertible Securities ETF (CWB), and the SPDR SSGA US Sector Rotation ETF (XLSR), alongside fixed income and broad-market products. The SPDR brand is one of the largest and oldest ETF families, tradeable like stocks on exchanges while offering institutional-grade diversification.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SPDR: State Street Depositary Receipts - a family of exchange-traded funds covering various market sectors and indices

Products and services

• Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) A sector-specific ETF that tracks the S&P 500 Health Care Index, offering exposure to mega-cap healthcare stocks including Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, and AbbVie with a 0.08% expense ratio and 1.60% dividend yield. Designed for investors seeking targeted health care sector exposure.
• SPDR Bloomberg Convertible Securities ETF (CWB) An ETF that tracks the Barclays Capital U.S. Convertible Bond>$500MM Index and employs a sampling strategy to match index performance. Provides exposure to U.S. convertible securities for investors seeking income and equity-like returns.
• SPDR SSGA US Sector Rotation ETF (XLSR) An actively managed ETF based on the S&P 500 index with a market capitalization of $855.41 million, designed to rotate across U.S. sectors. Targets investors seeking dynamic sector allocation strategies.

Quantifiable outcome

• XLV achieved 9.9% CAGR vs IYH's 9.7% CAGR over 10 years
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• S&P Dow Jones Indices LLCcoreTechnology or IntegrationS&P DJI provides index licensing for SPDR products including S&P 500 index tracking. The S&P 500 Index is a product of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use by State Street Global Advisors.
• Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLCcoreTechnology or IntegrationS&P trademark licensed for use in SPDR product naming. The fund is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by S&P DJI, Dow Jones, S&P, their respective affiliates.
• Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLCcoreTechnology or IntegrationDow Jones trademark licensed for use in SPDR products. Dow Jones is a registered trademark and has been licensed for use by S&P Dow Jones Indices and sublicensed for certain purposes by State Street Global Advisors.
• State Street Global Advisors Funds Distributors, LLC (SSGA FD)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSSGA FD is the principal distributor for SPDR ETFs, a member of FINRA, and an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of State Street Corporation. Handles fund distribution and regulatory compliance.
• ALPS Distributors, Inc.minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorALPS is the distributor for SPY, MDY, and DIA, all unit investment trusts. SSGA FD and ALPS are not affiliated entities.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• ProShares: Issuer of leveraged, inverse, and thematic ETFs; competes with SPDR for advisor and active-investor mindshare, particularly in factor and specialty strategy segments.
• WisdomTree: Thematic and factor ETF sponsor with sector and international ETFs that overlap with parts of SPDR's product family; competitor for the same self-directed and advisor segments.
• First Trust: ETF issuer with sector and factor/smart-beta products directly overlapping SPDR's sector and smart-beta lines; positioned in the same intermediary and advisor distribution channels.
• iShares (BlackRock): Largest global ETF issuer and the most direct competitor to SPDR's sector and broad-market products; competes on cost, scale, and product breadth, with iShares Healthcare (IYH) explicitly benchmarked against XLV in the company data.
• Invesco (QQQ): Large ETF sponsor with flagship QQQ and an expanding sector/thematic lineup; competes with SPDR for intermediary and institutional ETF flows and is a frequent head-to-head competitor in thematic and factor categories.
• VanEck: Specialty ETF issuer spanning sector, thematic, and commodity exposures; competes with SPDR in sector and thematic categories and pursues similar intermediary distribution channels.
• Schwab Asset Management: Issuer of low-cost Schwab ETFs that compete with SPDR on expense ratios; has driven aggressive fee compression across the sector, putting pressure on SPDR's pricing moat.
• Vanguard ETFs: Major low-cost ETF issuer; Vanguard Select Sector ETFs and total-market funds directly compete with SPDR sector and broad-market products and represent the primary fee-compression threat to SPDR's cost advantage.

Broad incumbents

• Charles Schwab: Major brokerage whose asset-management arm issues low-cost ETFs that overlap with SPDR sector products; less specialized than SPDR but competes heavily on price at the platform-broker level.

Emerging players

• ARK Invest: Thematic and disruptive-innovation ETF issuer; partial overlap with SPDR's thematic/sector ambitions and competing for the same active-investor demographic.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/StateStreet
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sector-spdrs

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sector SPDRs