The retail workforce build-up ahead of the holiday season potentially indicate that retailers are more optimistic over the expanding economy and consumers’ potential spending power this year.
Along with XRT, the largest retail-sector ETF in the space, investors can take a look at other options, including the Market Vectors Retail ETF (NYSEArca: RTH) and PowerShares Dynamic Retail Portfolio (NYSEArca: PMR).
RTH only targets the 25 largest U.S.-listed public traded retail companies, with a heavy position in Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) 10.2%, Amazon (NasdaqGS: AMZN) 9.4% and Home Depot (NYSE: HD) 8.0%. In comparison, XRT includes a broader range of 102 holdings and equally weights its positions. RTH is up 4.1% year-to-date. [Retail ETFs Look to Recapture Lost Magic]
Additionally, PMR tracks a so-called smart-beta or fundamental index that selects companies based on factors like price momentum, earnings momentum, quality, management action, and value. PMR is down 2.7% year-to-date.
SPDR S&P Retail ETF
For more information on the retail sector, visit our retail category.