D-Keine Introduction The Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLU) has been a solid performer so far this year, nearly matching the mighty — but in my opinion currently quite risky — S&P 500 Index (SPY). While XLU had a difficult first quarter, lagging SPY by as much as 13% in February, it returned over 15% year-to-date (Figure 1). Figure 1: Year-to-date performance comparison of the S&P 500 index versus The Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (own work, based on the daily closing price of SPY and XLU) I ha ...