Spiders: Where are the Bugs

This article examines the characteristics and performance of an exchange-traded index fund known by the name of Standard & Poor's Depository Receipts or SPDR or Spiders. The Spiders' net asset value is kept close to market price by the ability to create and delete them by in-kind transactions. Spiders underperform the S&P Index by 28 basis points and low-cost index funds by 18 points. This is primarily due to the lost income caused by holding dividends received on the underlying shares in cash. Nevertheless, Spiders are the most actively traded stock and the instrument of choice for most hedging.