XLU

XLU is the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund, an exchange-traded fund run by State Street that bundles together the big publicly traded US electric, gas, and water utility companies from the S&P 500 into a single tradeable share. Rather than running a business itself, it makes money for investors the way the underlying utility companies do: steady, regulated electricity and gas bills paid out partly as dividends to shareholders. Because utilities are considered a stable, low-growth business, the fund is often used by investors as a safer, income-focused corner of the stock market.