On a trailing 12-month basis, FXU yields 3.9%, or about 20 basis points more than comparable yield on XLU.
“The real reason to like utilities is the dividend yield. An income stream cushions the blow from a weak stock market. It also enhances the return when the market rises, and given my own bearish biases that would ease the pain should my market analysis be off. Basically, it is a win-win as long as interest rates in the longer maturities of the bond market do not start to climb,” according to Barron’s.
Utilities Select Sector SPDR