The Energy Select Sector SPDR (NYSEArca: XLE), the largest equity-based energy ETF, has gone from first to worst among the nine sector SPDR ETFs issued by State Street’s (NYSE: STT) State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) this year, but that is not stopping some investors from trying to catch a bottom in the fund.
Following a torrid pace of asset-gathering earlier this year, XLE once again ranks among the top ETFs for newly added assets. The ETF added $1.1 billion in new assets this month as of Oct. 21. That is the largest amount allocated to any sector ETF since the start of the fourth quarter and a total exceeded by just two equity-based ETFs – the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (NYSEArca: IVV) and the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSEArca: IWM). [Returning to Familiar ETFs]
With Wednesday’s 1.9% loss, which occurred on nearly double the average daily volume, XLE has tumbled 5% this month as oil prices have continued plummeting. West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. benchmark contract, closed at $80.39 yesterday, the lowest close since June 2012.
XLE is not the only energy ETF that investors are betting has neared a bottom. Despite persistent weakness in oil prices, the PowerShares DB Oil Fund (NYSEArca: DBO) has added $14.6 million in new assets over the past week, a sum surpassed by just six other PowerShares ETFs, according to issuer data. Illinois-based PowerShares is the fourth-largest U.S. ETF issuer. [Investors Flock Back to Oil ETFs]