Xlv

XLV is the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund, an exchange-traded fund managed by State Street Global Advisors. It seeks to track the performance of the Health Care Select Sector Index, which represents the U.S. health care stocks within the S&P 500. The fund began trading on December 16, 1998, and lists on the NYSE Arca under the ticker XLV. Its primary objective is to provide investment results that, before expenses, closely correspond to the price and yield performance of the index.

Investment approach and holdings: XLV is a passively managed fund that typically uses full replication, holding substantially all of the securities in the index in the same proportional weights. The Health Care Select Sector Index is market-cap weighted and includes companies across sub-sectors such as pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, health care equipment and supplies, health care providers and services, and life sciences tools and services.

Risks and characteristics: As a sector-focused ETF, XLV concentrates risk in the health care industry and is sensitive to regulatory actions, pricing pressures, and innovation cycles affecting health care companies. The fund trades like a stock, offering liquidity but subject to market risk and potential tracking error relative to the index. The expense ratio is about 0.12% per year, and the fund typically distributes dividends quarterly.

Use cases: Investors use XLV to gain targeted exposure to U.S. health care equities, to express sector views, or to complement broader equity allocations. It is generally employed within a diversified portfolio rather than as a stand-alone investment.