Investors misread XLK in 2014, pulling more than $1.5 billion from the fund as it climbed 15.7%. XLV and XLK rank among in the top SPDRs on a historical basis in just two other months; XLV as the second-best in June and XLK as the best of the nine in October.
As for the SPDRs to avoid this month, historical data show the Industrial Select Sector SPDR (NYSEArca: XLI) and the Materials Select Sector SPDR (NYSEArca: XLB) typically lose more than 1% apiece in January. [Industrial, Materials ETFs Diverge]
Technology Select Sector SPDR
ETF Trends editorial team contributed to this post.