SPDR Series Trust

Prospectus
October 31, 2022
SPDR® Series Trust    
SPDR Dow Jones REIT ETF (RWR)
SPDR FactSet Innovative Technology ETF (XITK)
SPDR Global Dow ETF (DGT)
SPDR ICE Preferred Securities ETF (PSK)
SPDR MSCI USA StrategicFactorsSM ETF (QUS)
SPDR NYSE Technology ETF (XNTK)
SPDR Portfolio S&P 1500 Composite Stock Market ETF (SPTM)
SPDR Portfolio S&P 400 Mid Cap ETF (SPMD)
SPDR Portfolio S&P 500® ETF (SPLG)
SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Growth ETF (SPYG)
SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF (SPYD)
SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Value ETF (SPYV)
SPDR Portfolio S&P 600 Small Cap ETF (SPSM)
SPDR Russell 1000® Low Volatility Focus ETF (ONEV)
SPDR Russell 1000 Momentum Focus ETF (ONEO)
SPDR Russell 1000 Yield Focus ETF (ONEY)
SPDR S&P 1500 Momentum Tilt ETF (MMTM)
SPDR S&P 1500 Value Tilt ETF (VLU)
SPDR S&P 400 Mid Cap Growth ETF (MDYG)
SPDR S&P 400 Mid Cap Value ETF (MDYV)
SPDR S&P 500 Fossil Fuel Reserves Free ETF (SPYX)
SPDR S&P 600 Small Cap ETF (SLY)
SPDR S&P 600 Small Cap Growth ETF (SLYG)
SPDR S&P 600 Small Cap Value ETF (SLYV)
SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF (XAR)
SPDR S&P Bank ETF (KBE)
SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI)
SPDR S&P Capital Markets ETF (KCE)
SPDR S&P Dividend ETF (SDY)
SPDR S&P Health Care Equipment ETF (XHE)
SPDR S&P Health Care Services ETF (XHS)
SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB)
SPDR S&P Insurance ETF (KIE)
SPDR S&P Internet ETF (XWEB)
SPDR S&P Kensho Clean Power ETF (CNRG)
SPDR S&P Kensho Final Frontiers ETF (ROKT)
SPDR S&P Kensho Future Security ETF (FITE)
SPDR S&P Kensho Intelligent Structures ETF (SIMS)
SPDR S&P Kensho New Economies Composite ETF (KOMP)
SPDR S&P Kensho Smart Mobility ETF (HAIL)
SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF (XME)
SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Equipment & Services ETF (XES)
SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP)
SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF (XPH)
SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE)
SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT)
SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD)
SPDR S&P Software & Services ETF (XSW)
SPDR S&P Telecom ETF (XTL)
SPDR S&P Transportation ETF (XTN)
 
Principal U.S. Listing Exchange: NYSE Arca, Inc.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this Prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense. Shares in the Funds are not guaranteed or insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other agency of the U.S. Government, nor are shares deposits or obligations of any bank. It is possible to lose money by investing in the Funds.

 
Table of Contents
Fund Summaries  
SPDR Dow Jones REIT ETF 1
SPDR FactSet Innovative Technology ETF 6
SPDR Global Dow ETF 11
SPDR ICE Preferred Securities ETF 16
SPDR MSCI USA StrategicFactorsSM ETF 22
SPDR NYSE Technology ETF 28
SPDR Portfolio S&P 1500 Composite Stock Market ETF 33
SPDR Portfolio S&P 400 Mid Cap ETF 38
SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF 43
SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Growth ETF 48
SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF 53
SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Value ETF 58
SPDR Portfolio S&P 600 Small Cap ETF 63
SPDR Russell 1000 Low Volatility Focus ETF 68
SPDR Russell 1000 Momentum Focus ETF 73
SPDR Russell 1000 Yield Focus ETF 78
SPDR S&P 1500 Momentum Tilt ETF 83
SPDR S&P 1500 Value Tilt ETF 88
SPDR S&P 400 Mid Cap Growth ETF 93
SPDR S&P 400 Mid Cap Value ETF 98
SPDR S&P 500 Fossil Fuel Reserves Free ETF 103
SPDR S&P 600 Small Cap ETF 108
SPDR S&P 600 Small Cap Growth ETF 113
SPDR S&P 600 Small Cap Value ETF 119
SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF 124
SPDR S&P Bank ETF 129
SPDR S&P Biotech ETF 134
SPDR S&P Capital Markets ETF 139
SPDR S&P Dividend ETF 144
SPDR S&P Health Care Equipment ETF 149
SPDR S&P Health Care Services ETF 154
SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF 159
SPDR S&P Insurance ETF 164
SPDR S&P Internet ETF 169
SPDR S&P Kensho Clean Power ETF 174
SPDR S&P Kensho Final Frontiers ETF 181
SPDR S&P Kensho Future Security ETF 188
SPDR S&P Kensho Intelligent Structures ETF 195
SPDR S&P Kensho New Economies Composite ETF 202
SPDR S&P Kensho Smart Mobility ETF 209
SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF 216
SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Equipment & Services ETF 221
SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF 226
SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF 231
SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF 236
SPDR S&P Retail ETF 241
SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF 246
SPDR S&P Software & Services ETF 251
SPDR S&P Telecom ETF 256
SPDR S&P Transportation ETF 261

 

 
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Fund Summaries
SPDR® Dow Jones REIT ETF
Investment Objective
The SPDR Dow Jones REIT ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to provide investment results that, before fees and expenses, correspond generally to the total return performance of an index that tracks the performance of publicly traded real estate investment trusts.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund (“Fund Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment):
Management fees 0.25%
Distribution and service (12b-1) fees None
Other expenses 0.00%
Total annual Fund operating expenses 0.25%
Example:
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated, and then sell or hold all of your Fund Shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
Year 1 Year 3 Year 5 Year 10
$26 $80 $141 $318
Portfolio Turnover:
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance.  During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 10% of the average value of its portfolio.
The Fund's Principal Investment Strategy
In seeking to track the performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Select REIT Index  (the “Index”), the Fund employs a sampling strategy, which means that the Fund is not required to purchase all of the securities represented in the Index. Instead, the Fund may purchase a subset of the securities in the Index in an effort to hold a portfolio of securities with generally the same risk and return characteristics of the Index. The quantity of holdings in the Fund will be based on a number of factors, including asset size of the Fund. Based on its analysis of these factors, SSGA Funds Management, Inc. (“SSGA FM” or the “Adviser”), the investment adviser to the Fund, either may invest the Fund's assets in a subset of securities in the Index or may invest the Fund's assets in substantially all of the securities represented in the Index in approximately the same proportions as the Index, as determined by the Adviser to be in the best interest of the Fund in pursuing its objective. The Fund is classified as “diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended; however, the Fund may become “non-diversified” solely as a result of tracking the Index (e.g., changes in weightings of one or more component securities). When the Fund is non-diversified, it may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers.
Under normal market conditions, the Fund generally invests substantially all, but at least 80%, of its total assets in the securities comprising the Index. In addition, in seeking to track the Index, the Fund may invest in equity securities that are not included in the Index, cash and cash equivalents or money market instruments, such as repurchase 
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agreements and money market funds (including money market funds advised by the Adviser). In seeking to track the Index, the Fund's assets may be concentrated in an industry or group of industries, but only to the extent that the Index concentrates in a particular industry or group of industries. Futures contracts (a type of derivative instrument) may be used by the Fund in seeking performance that corresponds to the Index and in managing cash flows. 
The Index is designed to provide a measure of real estate securities that serve as proxies for direct real estate investing, in part by excluding securities whose value is not always closely tied to the value of the underlying real estate. The reason for the exclusions is that performance of such securities may be driven by factors other than the value of real estate. The Index is a market capitalization weighted index of publicly traded real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) and is comprised of companies whose charters are the equity ownership and operation of commercial and/or residential real estate and which operate under the REIT Act of 1960. To be included in the Index, a company must be both an equity owner and operator of commercial and/or residential real estate. Businesses excluded from the Index include: those classified under the Dow Jones REIT/RESI Industry Classification Hierarchy as “Specialty” (i.e., REIT types that cannot be easily classified within the Hierarchy, including timber REITs, railroad REITs and tower REITs), hybrid REITS, mortgage REITs, real estate finance companies, mortgage brokers and bankers, commercial and residential real estate brokers and estate agents, home builders, large landowners and subdividers of unimproved land, as well as companies that have more than 25% of their assets in direct mortgage investments. A company must have a minimum float-adjusted market capitalization of at least $200 million at the time of its inclusion, and at least 75% of the company's total revenue must be derived from the ownership and operation of real estate assets. A stock must have a median daily value traded of at least $5 million for the three-months prior to the rebalancing reference date. The Index is generally rebalanced quarterly, and returns are calculated on a buy and hold basis except as necessary to reflect the occasional occurrence of Index changes in the middle of the month. Each REIT in the Index is weighted by its float-adjusted market capitalization. That is, each security is weighted to reflect the attainable market capitalization of the security which reflects that portion of securities shares that are accessible to investors. The Index is priced daily and is a total return (price and income) benchmark. As of July 31, 2022, the Index comprised 114 REITs. 
The Index is sponsored by S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC  (the “Index Provider”), which is not affiliated with the Fund or the Adviser. The Index Provider determines the composition of the Index, relative weightings of the securities in the Index and publishes information regarding the market value of the Index. 
Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund
As with all investments, there are certain risks of investing in the Fund. Fund Shares will change in value, and you could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.
Market Risk: The Fund's investments are subject to changes in general economic conditions, general market fluctuations and the risks inherent in investment in securities markets. Investment markets can be volatile and prices of investments can change substantially due to various factors including, but not limited to, economic growth or recession, changes in interest rates, inflation, changes in the actual or perceived creditworthiness of issuers, and general market liquidity. The Fund is subject to the risk that geopolitical events will disrupt securities markets and adversely affect global economies and markets. Local, regional or global events such as war, military conflicts, acts of terrorism, natural disasters, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments.
Equity Investing Risk: The market prices of equity securities owned by the Fund may go up or down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons that may directly relate to the issuer and also may decline due to general industry or market conditions that are not specifically related to a particular company. In addition, equity markets tend to move in cycles, which may cause stock prices to fall over short or extended periods of time.
Real Estate Sector Risk: An investment in a real property company may be subject to risks similar to those associated with direct ownership of real estate, including, by way of example, the possibility of declines in the value of real estate, losses from casualty or condemnation, and changes in local and general economic conditions, supply and demand, interest rates, environmental liability, zoning laws, regulatory limitations on rents, property taxes, and operating expenses. Some real property companies have limited diversification because they invest in a limited number of properties, a narrow geographic area, or a single type of property.
REIT Risk: Real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) are subject to the risks associated with investing in the securities of real property companies. In particular, REITs may be affected by changes in the values of the underlying properties that they own or operate. Further, REITs are dependent upon specialized management skills, 
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and their investments may be concentrated in relatively few properties, or in a small geographic area or a single property type. REITs are also subject to heavy cash flow dependency and, as a result, are particularly reliant on the proper functioning of capital markets. A variety of economic and other factors may adversely affect a lessee's ability to meet its obligations to a REIT. In the event of a default by a lessee, the REIT may experience delays in enforcing its rights as a lessor and may incur substantial costs associated in protecting its investments. In addition, a REIT could fail to qualify for favorable regulatory treatment. 
Fluctuation of Net Asset Value, Share Premiums and Discounts Risk: As with all exchange-traded funds, Fund Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The trading prices of Fund Shares in the secondary market may differ from the Fund's daily net asset value per share and there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the net asset value per share (premium) or less than the net asset value per share (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines. 
Concentration Risk: When the Fund focuses its investments in a particular industry or sector, financial, economic, business, and other developments affecting issuers in that industry, market, or economic sector will have a greater effect on the Fund than if it had not done so. 
Futures Contract Risk: A futures contract is a standardized agreement that calls for the purchase or sale of a specific asset at a specific price at a specific future time, or cash settlement of the terms of the contract. Transactions in futures contracts can create investment leverage and may have significant volatility. It is possible that a futures contract transaction will result in a much greater loss than the principal amount invested, and the Fund may not be able to close out the futures contract at a favorable time or price. There is no assurance that a liquid secondary market on an exchange will exist for any particular futures contract. In the event no such market exists, it might not be possible to effect closing transactions, and the Fund will be unable to terminate its exposure to the futures contract. There is also a risk of imperfect correlation between movements in the prices of the futures contract and movements in the price of the underlying assets. The counterparty to a futures contract may be unable or unwilling to make timely settlement payments, return the Fund's margin, or otherwise honor its obligations. 
Indexing Strategy/Index Tracking Risk: The Fund is managed with an indexing investment strategy, attempting to track the performance of an unmanaged index of securities, regardless of the current or projected performance of the Index or of the actual securities comprising the Index. This differs from an actively-managed fund, which typically seeks to outperform a benchmark index. As a result, the Fund's performance may be less favorable than that of a portfolio managed using an active investment strategy. The structure and composition of the Index will affect the performance, volatility, and risk of the Index and, consequently, the performance, volatility, and risk of the Fund. Errors in index data, index computations or the construction of the Index in accordance with its methodology may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders. To the extent circumstances evolve in between reconstitutions, the Index may include, and the Fund may therefore hold for a period of time, securities of companies that do not align with the Index's objective and/or criteria. When there are changes made to the component securities of the Index and the Fund in turn makes similar changes to its portfolio, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio changes will be borne directly by the Fund and its shareholders. The Fund may recognize gains as a result of rebalancing or reconstituting its securities holdings to reflect changes in the securities included in the Index. The Fund also may be required to distribute any such gains to its shareholders to avoid adverse federal income tax consequences. While the Adviser seeks to track the performance of the Index (i.e., achieve a high degree of correlation with the Index), the Fund's return may not match the return of the Index. The Fund incurs a number of operating expenses not applicable to the Index, and incurs costs in buying and selling securities. In addition, the Fund may not be fully invested at times, generally as a result of cash flows into or out of the Fund or reserves of cash held by the Fund to meet redemptions. The Adviser may attempt to track the Index return by investing in fewer than all of the securities in the Index, or in some securities not included in the Index, potentially increasing the risk of divergence between the Fund's return and that of the Index. 
Non-Diversification Risk: To the extent the Fund becomes “non-diversified,” the Fund may hold a smaller number of portfolio securities than many other funds. To the extent the Fund invests in a relatively small number of issuers, a decline in the market value of a particular security held by the Fund may affect its value more than if it invested in a larger number of issuers. The value of Fund Shares may be more volatile than the values of shares of more diversified funds. The Fund may become non-diversified for periods of time solely as a result of tracking the Index (e.g., changes in weightings of one or more component securities). 
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Fund Performance
The following bar chart and table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund's performance from year to year and by showing how the Fund's average annual returns for certain time periods compare with the average annual returns of the Index and of a relevant broad-based securities index. The Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available by calling 1-866-787-2257 or visiting our website at https://www.ssga.com/spdrs.
Annual Total Returns (years ended 12/31)*
  
Highest Quarterly Return: 17.12% (Q4, 2021)
Lowest Quarterly Return: -28.62% (Q1, 2020
* As of  09/30/2022, the Fund's Calendar Year-To-Date return was -29.44%. 
Average Annual Total Returns (for periods ended 12/31/21)
The after-tax returns presented in the table below are calculated using highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns will depend on your specific tax situation and may differ from those shown below. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold Fund Shares through tax-advantaged arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. The returns after taxes can exceed the returns before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit for a shareholder from realizing a capital loss on a sale of Fund Shares.
  One
Year
Five
Years
Ten
Years
Return Before Taxes 45.46% 9.36% 10.40%
Return After Taxes on Distributions 43.78% 7.90% 8.87%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares 26.94% 6.64% 7.68%
Dow Jones U.S. Select REIT Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) 45.91% 9.65% 10.70%
S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) 28.71% 18.47% 16.55%
Portfolio Management
Investment Adviser
SSGA FM serves as the investment adviser to the Fund.
Portfolio Managers
The professionals primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund are Michael Feehily, Karl Schneider and Lisa Hobart.
Michael Feehily, CFA, is a Senior Managing Director of the Adviser and the Head of Global Equity Beta Solutions in the Americas. He worked at the Adviser from 1997 to 2006 and rejoined in 2010.
Karl Schneider, CAIA, is a Managing Director of the Adviser and Deputy Head of Global Equity Beta Solutions in the Americas. He joined the Adviser in 1997.
Lisa Hobart is a Vice President of the Adviser and a Senior Portfolio Manager in the Global Equity Beta Solutions Group. She joined the Adviser in 2006.
Purchase and Sale Information
The Fund will issue (or redeem) Fund Shares to certain institutional investors (typically market makers or other broker-dealers) only in large blocks of Fund Shares known as “Creation Units.” Creation Unit transactions are conducted in exchange for the deposit or delivery of a designated portfolio of in-kind securities and/or cash.
Individual Fund Shares may only be purchased and sold on the NYSE Arca, Inc., other national securities exchanges, electronic crossing networks and other alternative trading systems through your broker-dealer at market prices. Because Fund Shares trade at market prices rather than at net asset value (“NAV”), Fund Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount). When buying or selling Fund Shares in the secondary
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market, you may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Fund Shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Fund Shares (ask) (the “bid-ask spread”). Recent information regarding the Fund's NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads is available at https://www.ssga.com/spdrs.
Tax Information
The Fund's distributions are expected to be taxed as ordinary income, qualified dividend income and/or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account. Any withdrawals made from such tax-advantaged arrangement may be taxable to you. Some distributions may be treated as a return of capital for tax purposes.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase Fund Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Adviser or its affiliates may pay the financial intermediary for certain activities related to the Fund, including educational training programs, conferences, the development of technology platforms and reporting systems, or other services related to the sale or promotion of the Fund. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
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SPDR® FactSet Innovative Technology ETF
Investment Objective
The SPDR FactSet Innovative Technology ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to provide investment results that, before fees and expenses, correspond generally to the total return performance of the FactSet Innovative Technology Index.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund (“Fund Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment):
Management fees 0.45%
Distribution and service (12b-1) fees None
Other expenses 0.00%
Total annual Fund operating expenses 0.45%
Example:
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated, and then sell or hold all of your Fund Shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
Year 1 Year 3 Year 5 Year 10
$46 $144 $252 $567
Portfolio Turnover:
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance.  During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 53% of the average value of its portfolio.
The Fund's Principal Investment Strategy
In seeking to track the performance of the FactSet Innovative Technology Index (the “Index”), the Fund employs a sampling strategy, which means that the Fund is not required to purchase all of the securities represented in the Index. Instead, the Fund may purchase a subset of the securities in the Index in an effort to hold a portfolio of securities with generally the same risk and return characteristics of the Index. The quantity of holdings in the Fund will be based on a number of factors, including asset size of the Fund. Based on its analysis of these factors, SSGA Funds Management, Inc. (“SSGA FM” or the “Adviser”), the investment adviser to the Fund, either may invest the Fund's assets in a subset of securities in the Index or may invest the Fund's assets in substantially all of the securities represented in the Index in approximately the same proportions as the Index, as determined by the Adviser to be in the best interest of the Fund in pursuing its objective. The Fund is classified as “diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended; however, the Fund may become “non-diversified” solely as a result of tracking the Index (e.g., changes in weightings of one or more component securities). When the Fund is non-diversified, it may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers.
Under normal market conditions, the Fund generally invests substantially all, but at least 80%, of its total assets in the securities comprising the Index. In addition, in seeking to track the Index, the Fund may invest in equity securities that are not included in the Index (including common stock, preferred stock, depositary receipts and shares of other investment companies), cash and cash equivalents or money market instruments, such as repurchase agreements and money market funds (including money market funds advised by the Adviser). In seeking to track the Index, the 
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Fund's assets may be concentrated in an industry or group of industries, but only to the extent that the Index concentrates in a particular industry or group of industries. Futures contracts (a type of derivative instrument) may be used by the Fund in seeking performance that corresponds to its Index. 
The Index is designed to represent the performance of U.S.-listed stock and American Depository Receipts (“ADRs”) of Technology companies and Technology-related companies (including Electronic Media companies) within the most innovative segments of the Technology sector and Electronic Media sub-sector of the Media sector, as defined by FactSet Research Systems, Inc. (“FactSet” or the “Index Provider”). The Index Provider considers the most innovative segments of the Technology sector and Electronic Media sub-sector to be those with the highest revenue growth and believes that these companies are often involved in cutting edge research, innovative product and service development, disruptive business models, or a combination of these activities. In addition to traditional Technology companies, Electronic Media companies are included in the Index because of their core focus on technology and the integral role technology plays in determining how such companies operate, innovate and compete within their industry. FactSet defines the Technology sector to include Information Technology Services providers, Hardware manufacturers, Software manufacturers, Electronic Components manufacturers, and Manufacturing Equipment and Services providers. FactSet defines the Electronic Media sub-sector to include companies that produce media content in digital format and deliver, distribute and monetize their content via an electronic medium such as the Internet. 
FactSet sector determinations are based on a comprehensive, structured taxonomy designed to seek to offer precise industry classification of global companies according to the products and services sold by such companies (the “FactSet Revere Hierarchy”). The FactSet Revere Hierarchy reflects a variable depth structure that, with respect to the Index, consists of twelve levels of increasingly specialized Technology or Electronic Media sub-sectors. Technology and electronic media companies are classified or mapped to the sub-sectors from which they each derive 50% or more of their respective revenues. A company will be eligible for inclusion in the Index if it satisfies the following criteria: (i) is mapped to a Technology or Electronic Media sub-sector at the fourth level or lower (levels four through twelve) in the FactSet Revere Hierarchy; (ii) is mapped to a sub-sector in the top quartile of FactSet's composite revenue growth scoring system for the Technology sector or Electronic Media sub-sector (the “revenue growth scoring system”); (iii) has a market capitalization of shares publicly available to investors (i.e., a “float-adjusted” market capitalization) above $500 million with a float-adjusted liquidity ratio (defined by dollar value traded over the previous 12 months divided by the float-adjusted market capitalization as of the index rebalancing reference date) above 90% or have a float-adjusted market capitalization above $400 million with a float-adjusted liquidity ratio (as defined above) above 150%; (iv) is a U.S.-listed stock or ADR; and (v) has not had an initial public offering of shares within three months of the Review Selection Day (defined below). 
The Index is equal-weighted to ensure that each of its component securities is represented in approximate equal dollar value at each reconstitution. The Index is capped at a maximum of 100 constituent securities. If there are fewer than 50 stocks suitable for inclusion based on the eligibility criteria, stocks mapped to the next highest-ranked quartile of sub-sectors would be added until the minimum number of Index constituents is met. To ensure that each component stock continues to represent approximate equal market value in the Index, adjustments, if necessary, are made annually after the close of trading on the third Friday of December (the “Reconstitution Day”) based on information as of the last business day two weeks before the Reconstitution Day (the “Review Selection Day”). As of July 31, 2022, the Index was comprised of 96 stocks. 
The Index is sponsored by FactSet (the “Index Provider”), which is not affiliated with the Fund or the Adviser. The Index Provider determines the composition of the Index, relative weightings of the securities in the Index and publishes information regarding the market value of the Index. 
Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund
As with all investments, there are certain risks of investing in the Fund. Fund Shares will change in value, and you could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.
Market Risk: The Fund's investments are subject to changes in general economic conditions, general market fluctuations and the risks inherent in investment in securities markets. Investment markets can be volatile and prices of investments can change substantially due to various factors including, but not limited to, economic growth or recession, changes in interest rates, inflation, changes in the actual or perceived creditworthiness of issuers, and general market liquidity. The Fund is subject to the risk that geopolitical events will disrupt securities markets and adversely affect global economies and markets. Local, regional or global events such as war, military conflicts, acts of terrorism, natural disasters, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments. 
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Equity Investing Risk: The market prices of equity securities owned by the Fund may go up or down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons that may directly relate to the issuer and also may decline due to general industry or market conditions that are not specifically related to a particular company. In addition, equity markets tend to move in cycles, which may cause stock prices to fall over short or extended periods of time. 
Technology Sector Risk: Market or economic factors impacting technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technological advances could have a major effect on the value of the Fund's investments. The value of stocks of technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technology is particularly vulnerable to rapid changes in technology product cycles, rapid product obsolescence, government regulation and competition, both domestically and internationally, including competition from foreign competitors with lower production costs. Stocks of technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technology, especially those of smaller, less-seasoned companies, tend to be more volatile than the overall market. Technology companies are heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights, the loss or impairment of which may adversely affect profitability. Additionally, companies in the technology sector may face dramatic and often unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for the services of qualified personnel. 
Electronic Media Companies Risk: Electronic media companies create, own, and distribute various forms of technology-based visual, audio, and interactive content, as well as information databases that they sell or lease to others. Electronic media companies can be adversely affected by, among other things, changes in government regulation, intense competition, dependency on patent protection, and rapid obsolescence of products and services due to product compatibility or changing consumer preferences. 
Fluctuation of Net Asset Value, Share Premiums and Discounts Risk: As with all exchange-traded funds, Fund Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The trading prices of Fund Shares in the secondary market may differ from the Fund's daily net asset value per share and there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the net asset value per share (premium) or less than the net asset value per share (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines. 
Concentration Risk: When the Fund focuses its investments in a particular industry or sector, financial, economic, business, and other developments affecting issuers in that industry, market, or economic sector will have a greater effect on the Fund than if it had not done so. 
Depositary Receipts Risk: Investments in depositary receipts may be less liquid and more volatile than the underlying securities in their primary trading market. If a depositary receipt is denominated in a different currency than its underlying securities, the Fund will be subject to the currency risk of both the investment in the depositary receipt and the underlying security. Holders of depositary receipts may have limited or no rights to take action with respect to the underlying securities or to compel the issuer of the receipts to take action. The prices of depositary receipts may differ from the prices of securities upon which they are based. To the extent the Fund invests in depositary receipts based on securities included in the Index, such differences in prices may increase index tracking risk. Investments in depositary receipts are generally subject to the same risks as their underlying securities, including political, regulatory, and economic risks. There may be less information publicly available about a non-U.S. entity that issues the underlying securities than about a U.S. entity, and many non-U.S. entities are not subject to accounting, auditing, legal and financial report standards comparable to those in the United States. Further, such entities and/or their securities may be subject to risks associated with currency controls; expropriation; changes in tax policy; greater market volatility; liquidity risks; differing securities market structures; higher transaction costs; and various administrative difficulties. 
Futures Contract Risk: A futures contract is a standardized agreement that calls for the purchase or sale of a specific asset at a specific price at a specific future time, or cash settlement of the terms of the contract. Transactions in futures contracts can create investment leverage and may have significant volatility. It is possible that a futures contract transaction will result in a much greater loss than the principal amount invested, and the Fund may not be able to close out the futures contract at a favorable time or price. There is no assurance that a liquid secondary market on an exchange will exist for any particular futures contract. In the event no such market exists, it might not be possible to effect closing transactions, and the Fund will be unable to terminate its exposure to the futures contract. There is also a risk of imperfect correlation between movements in the prices of the futures contract and movements in the price of the underlying assets. The counterparty to a futures contract may be unable or unwilling to make timely settlement payments, return the Fund's margin, or otherwise honor its obligations. 
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Growth Stock Risk: The prices of growth stocks may be based largely on expectations of future earnings, and their prices can decline rapidly and significantly in reaction to negative news. Growth stocks may underperform value stocks and stocks in other broad style categories (and the stock market as a whole) over any period of time and may shift in and out of favor with investors generally, sometimes rapidly, depending on changes in market, economic, and other factors. 
Indexing Strategy/Index Tracking Risk: The Fund is managed with an indexing investment strategy, attempting to track the performance of an unmanaged index of securities, regardless of the current or projected performance of the Index or of the actual securities comprising the Index. This differs from an actively-managed fund, which typically seeks to outperform a benchmark index. As a result, the Fund's performance may be less favorable than that of a portfolio managed using an active investment strategy. The structure and composition of the Index will affect the performance, volatility, and risk of the Index and, consequently, the performance, volatility, and risk of the Fund. Errors in index data, index computations or the construction of the Index in accordance with its methodology may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders. To the extent circumstances evolve in between reconstitutions, the Index may include, and the Fund may therefore hold for a period of time, securities of companies that do not align with the Index's objective and/or criteria. When there are changes made to the component securities of the Index and the Fund in turn makes similar changes to its portfolio, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio changes will be borne directly by the Fund and its shareholders. The Fund may recognize gains as a result of rebalancing or reconstituting its securities holdings to reflect changes in the securities included in the Index. The Fund also may be required to distribute any such gains to its shareholders to avoid adverse federal income tax consequences. While the Adviser seeks to track the performance of the Index (i.e., achieve a high degree of correlation with the Index), the Fund's return may not match the return of the Index. The Fund incurs a number of operating expenses not applicable to the Index, and incurs costs in buying and selling securities. In addition, the Fund may not be fully invested at times, generally as a result of cash flows into or out of the Fund or reserves of cash held by the Fund to meet redemptions. The Adviser may attempt to track the Index return by investing in fewer than all of the securities in the Index, or in some securities not included in the Index, potentially increasing the risk of divergence between the Fund's return and that of the Index. 
Non-Diversification Risk: To the extent the Fund becomes “non-diversified,” the Fund may hold a smaller number of portfolio securities than many other funds. To the extent the Fund invests in a relatively small number of issuers, a decline in the market value of a particular security held by the Fund may affect its value more than if it invested in a larger number of issuers. The value of Fund Shares may be more volatile than the values of shares of more diversified funds. The Fund may become non-diversified for periods of time solely as a result of tracking the Index (e.g., changes in weightings of one or more component securities). 
Fund Performance
The following bar chart and table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund's performance from year to year and by showing how the Fund's average annual returns for certain time periods compare with the average annual returns of the Index and of a relevant broad-based securities index. The Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available by calling 1-866-787-2257 or visiting our website at https://www.ssga.com/spdrs.
Annual Total Returns (years ended 12/31)*
  
Highest Quarterly Return: 47.04% (Q2, 2020)
Lowest Quarterly Return: -18.68% (Q4, 2018
* As of  09/30/2022, the Fund's Calendar Year-To-Date return was -47.78%. 
 
Average Annual Total Returns (for periods ended 12/31/21)
The after-tax returns presented in the table below are calculated using highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns will depend on your specific tax situation and may differ from those shown below. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold Fund Shares through tax-advantaged arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. The returns after taxes can exceed the returns before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit for a shareholder from realizing a capital loss on a sale of Fund Shares.
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  One
Year
Five
Years
Since Inception
(01/13/16)
Return Before Taxes -11.28% 27.61% 26.26%
Return After Taxes on Distributions -11.28% 27.33% 25.87%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares -6.68% 22.83% 21.89%
FactSet Innovative Technology Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) -10.91% 28.13% 26.80%
S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) 28.71% 18.47% 19.01%
Portfolio Management
Investment Adviser
SSGA FM serves as the investment adviser to the Fund.
Portfolio Managers
The professionals primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund are Michael Feehily, Karl Schneider and Michael Finocchi.
Michael Feehily, CFA, is a Senior Managing Director of the Adviser and the Head of Global Equity Beta Solutions in the Americas. He worked at the Adviser from 1997 to 2006 and rejoined in 2010.
Karl Schneider, CAIA, is a Managing Director of the Adviser and Deputy Head of Global Equity Beta Solutions in the Americas. He joined the Adviser in 1997.
Michael Finocchi is a Principal of the Adviser and a Portfolio Manager in the Global Equity Beta Solutions Group. He joined the Adviser in 2005.
Purchase and Sale Information
The Fund will issue (or redeem) Fund Shares to certain institutional investors (typically market makers or other broker-dealers) only in large blocks of Fund Shares known as “Creation Units.” Creation Unit transactions are conducted in exchange for the deposit or delivery of a designated portfolio of in-kind securities and/or cash.
Individual Fund Shares may only be purchased and sold on the NYSE Arca, Inc., other national securities exchanges, electronic crossing networks and other alternative trading systems through your broker-dealer at market prices. Because Fund Shares trade at market prices rather than at net asset value (“NAV”), Fund Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount). When buying or selling Fund Shares in the secondary market, you may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Fund Shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Fund Shares (ask) (the “bid-ask spread”). Recent information regarding the Fund's NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads is available at https://www.ssga.com/spdrs.
Tax Information
The Fund's distributions are expected to be taxed as ordinary income, qualified dividend income and/or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account. Any withdrawals made from such tax-advantaged arrangement may be taxable to you.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase Fund Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Adviser or its affiliates may pay the financial intermediary for certain activities related to the Fund, including educational training programs, conferences, the development of technology platforms and reporting systems, or other services related to the sale or promotion of the Fund. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
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SPDR® Global Dow ETF
Investment Objective
The SPDR Global Dow ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to provide investment results that, before fees and expenses, correspond generally to the total return performance of an index that tracks the performance of multinational blue-chip issuers.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund (“Fund Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment):
Management fees 0.50%
Distribution and service (12b-1) fees None
Other expenses 0.00%
Total annual Fund operating expenses 0.50%
Example:
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated, and then sell or hold all of your Fund Shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
Year 1 Year 3 Year 5 Year 10
$51 $160 $280 $628
Portfolio Turnover:
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance.  During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 12% of the average value of its portfolio.
The Fund's Principal Investment Strategy
In seeking to track the performance of The Global Dow (the “Index”), the Fund employs a sampling strategy, which means that the Fund is not required to purchase all of the securities represented in the Index. Instead, the Fund may purchase a subset of the securities in the Index in an effort to hold a portfolio of securities with generally the same risk and return characteristics of the Index. The quantity of holdings in the Fund will be based on a number of factors, including asset size of the Fund. Based on its analysis of these factors, SSGA Funds Management, Inc. (“SSGA FM” or the “Adviser”), the investment adviser to the Fund, either may invest the Fund's assets in a subset of securities in the Index or may invest the Fund's assets in substantially all of the securities represented in the Index in approximately the same proportions as the Index, as determined by the Adviser to be in the best interest of the Fund in pursuing its objective. The Fund is classified as “diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended; however, the Fund may become “non-diversified” solely as a result of tracking the Index (e.g., changes in weightings of one or more component securities). When the Fund is non-diversified, it may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers.
Under normal market conditions, the Fund generally invests substantially all, but at least 80%, of its total assets in the securities comprising the Index. In addition, in seeking to track the Index, the Fund may invest in equity securities that are not included in the Index, cash and cash equivalents or money market instruments, such as repurchase agreements and money market funds (including money market funds advised by the Adviser). In seeking to track the 
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Index, the Fund's assets may be concentrated in an industry or group of industries, but only to the extent that the Index concentrates in a particular industry or group of industries. Futures contracts (a type of derivative instrument) may be used by the Fund in seeking performance that corresponds to the Index and in managing cash flows. 
The Index is made up of approximately 150 companies from around the world. The companies are selected not just based on size and reputation, but also on their importance in the global economy. The Index has been designed to cover both developed and emerging countries. The Index is equal weighted and will be reset to equal weights annually each September. As of July 31, 2022, the Index comprised 150 stocks. 
The Index is sponsored by S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC  (the “Index Provider”), which is not affiliated with the Fund or the Adviser. The Index Provider determines the composition of the Index, relative weightings of the securities in the Index and publishes information regarding the market value of the Index. 
Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund
As with all investments, there are certain risks of investing in the Fund. Fund Shares will change in value, and you could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.
Market Risk: The Fund's investments are subject to changes in general economic conditions, general market fluctuations and the risks inherent in investment in securities markets. Investment markets can be volatile and prices of investments can change substantially due to various factors including, but not limited to, economic growth or recession, changes in interest rates, inflation, changes in the actual or perceived creditworthiness of issuers, and general market liquidity. The Fund is subject to the risk that geopolitical events will disrupt securities markets and adversely affect global economies and markets. Local, regional or global events such as war, military conflicts, acts of terrorism, natural disasters, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments.
Equity Investing Risk: The market prices of equity securities owned by the Fund may go up or down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons that may directly relate to the issuer and also may decline due to general industry or market conditions that are not specifically related to a particular company. In addition, equity markets tend to move in cycles, which may cause stock prices to fall over short or extended periods of time.
Non-U.S. Securities Risk: Non-U.S. securities (including depositary receipts) are subject to political, regulatory, and economic risks not present in domestic investments. There may be less information publicly available about a non-U.S. entity than about a U.S. entity, and many non-U.S. entities are not subject to accounting, auditing, legal and financial report standards comparable to those in the United States. Further, such entities and/or their securities may be subject to risks associated with currency controls; expropriation; changes in tax policy; greater market volatility; differing securities market structures; higher transaction costs; and various administrative difficulties, such as delays in clearing and settling portfolio transactions or in receiving payment of dividends. To the extent underlying securities held by the Fund trade on foreign exchanges that are closed when the exchange on which the Fund's shares trade is open, there may be deviations between the current price of an underlying security and the last quoted price for the underlying security on the closed foreign market. These deviations could result in the Fund experiencing premiums or discounts greater than those of ETFs that invest in domestic securities. Securities traded on foreign markets may be less liquid (harder to sell) than securities traded domestically. Foreign governments may impose restrictions on the repatriation of capital to the U.S. In addition, to the extent that the Fund buys securities denominated in a foreign currency, there are special risks such as changes in currency exchange rates and the risk that a foreign government could regulate foreign exchange transactions. In addition, to the extent investments are made in a limited number of countries, events in those countries will have a more significant impact on the Fund. Investments in depositary receipts may be less liquid and more volatile than the underlying shares in their primary trading market.
Fluctuation of Net Asset Value, Share Premiums and Discounts Risk: As with all exchange-traded funds, Fund Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The trading prices of Fund Shares in the secondary market may differ from the Fund's daily net asset value per share and there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the net asset value per share (premium) or less than the net asset value per share (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines. 
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Currency Risk: The value of the Fund's assets may be affected favorably or unfavorably by currency exchange rates, currency exchange control regulations, and delays, restrictions or prohibitions on the repatriation of foreign currencies. Foreign currency exchange rates may have significant volatility, and changes in the values of foreign currencies against the U.S. dollar may result in substantial declines in the values of the Fund's assets denominated in foreign currencies. 
Depositary Receipts Risk: Investments in depositary receipts may be less liquid and more volatile than the underlying securities in their primary trading market. If a depositary receipt is denominated in a different currency than its underlying securities, the Fund will be subject to the currency risk of both the investment in the depositary receipt and the underlying security. Holders of depositary receipts may have limited or no rights to take action with respect to the underlying securities or to compel the issuer of the receipts to take action. The prices of depositary receipts may differ from the prices of securities upon which they are based. To the extent the Fund invests in depositary receipts based on securities included in the Index, such differences in prices may increase index tracking risk. 
Emerging Markets Risk: Risks of investing in emerging markets include, among others, greater political and economic instability, greater volatility in currency exchange rates, less developed securities markets, possible trade barriers, currency transfer restrictions, a more limited number of potential buyers and issuers, an emerging market country's dependence on revenue from particular commodities or international aid, less governmental supervision and regulation, unavailability of currency hedging techniques, differences in auditing and financial reporting standards, and less developed legal systems. There is also the potential for unfavorable action such as expropriation, nationalization, embargo, and acts of war. The securities of emerging market companies may trade less frequently and in smaller volumes than more widely held securities. Market disruptions or substantial market corrections may limit very significantly the liquidity of securities of certain companies in a particular country or geographic region, or of all companies in the country or region. The Fund may be unable to liquidate its positions in such securities at any time, or at a favorable price, in order to meet the Fund's obligations. These risks are generally greater for investments in frontier market countries, which typically have smaller economies or less developed capital markets than traditional emerging market countries. 
Futures Contract Risk: A futures contract is a standardized agreement that calls for the purchase or sale of a specific asset at a specific price at a specific future time, or cash settlement of the terms of the contract. Transactions in futures contracts can create investment leverage and may have significant volatility. It is possible that a futures contract transaction will result in a much greater loss than the principal amount invested, and the Fund may not be able to close out the futures contract at a favorable time or price. There is no assurance that a liquid secondary market on an exchange will exist for any particular futures contract. In the event no such market exists, it might not be possible to effect closing transactions, and the Fund will be unable to terminate its exposure to the futures contract. There is also a risk of imperfect correlation between movements in the prices of the futures contract and movements in the price of the underlying assets. The counterparty to a futures contract may be unable or unwilling to make timely settlement payments, return the Fund's margin, or otherwise honor its obligations. 
Indexing Strategy/Index Tracking Risk: The Fund is managed with an indexing investment strategy, attempting to track the performance of an unmanaged index of securities, regardless of the current or projected performance of the Index or of the actual securities comprising the Index. This differs from an actively-managed fund, which typically seeks to outperform a benchmark index. As a result, the Fund's performance may be less favorable than that of a portfolio managed using an active investment strategy. The structure and composition of the Index will affect the performance, volatility, and risk of the Index and, consequently, the performance, volatility, and risk of the Fund. Errors in index data, index computations or the construction of the Index in accordance with its methodology may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders. To the extent circumstances evolve in between reconstitutions, the Index may include, and the Fund may therefore hold for a period of time, securities of companies that do not align with the Index's objective and/or criteria. When there are changes made to the component securities of the Index and the Fund in turn makes similar changes to its portfolio, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio changes will be borne directly by the Fund and its shareholders. The Fund may recognize gains as a result of rebalancing or reconstituting its securities holdings to reflect changes in the securities included in the Index. The Fund also may be required to distribute any such gains to its shareholders to avoid adverse federal income tax consequences. While the Adviser seeks to track the performance of the Index (i.e., achieve a high degree of correlation with the Index), the Fund's return may not match the return of the Index. The Fund incurs a number of operating expenses not applicable to the Index, and incurs costs in buying and selling securities. In addition, the Fund may not be fully invested at times, generally as a 
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result of cash flows into or out of the Fund or reserves of cash held by the Fund to meet redemptions. The Adviser may attempt to track the Index return by investing in fewer than all of the securities in the Index, or in some securities not included in the Index, potentially increasing the risk of divergence between the Fund's return and that of the Index. 
Liquidity Risk: Lack of a ready market, stressed market conditions, or restrictions on resale may limit the ability of the Fund to sell a security at an advantageous time or price or at all. Illiquid investments may trade at a discount from comparable, more liquid investments and may be subject to wide fluctuations in market value. If the liquidity of the Fund's holdings deteriorates, it may lead to differences between the market price of Fund Shares and the net asset value of Fund Shares, and could result in the Fund Shares being less liquid. Illiquidity of the Fund's holdings may also limit the ability of the Fund to obtain cash to meet redemptions on a timely basis. In addition, the Fund, due to limitations on investments in any illiquid investments and/or the difficulty in purchasing and selling such investments, may be unable to achieve its desired level of exposure to a certain market or sector. 
Non-Diversification Risk: To the extent the Fund becomes “non-diversified,” the Fund may hold a smaller number of portfolio securities than many other funds. To the extent the Fund invests in a relatively small number of issuers, a decline in the market value of a particular security held by the Fund may affect its value more than if it invested in a larger number of issuers. The value of Fund Shares may be more volatile than the values of shares of more diversified funds. The Fund may become non-diversified for periods of time solely as a result of tracking the Index (e.g., changes in weightings of one or more component securities). 
Unconstrained Sector Risk: The Fund may invest a substantial portion of its assets within one or more economic sectors or industries, which may change from time to time. Greater investment focus on one or more sectors or industries increases the potential for volatility and the risk that events negatively affecting such sectors or industries could reduce returns, potentially causing the value of the Fund's Shares to decrease, perhaps significantly. 
Valuation Risk: Some portfolio holdings, potentially a large portion of the Fund's investment portfolio, may be valued on the basis of factors other than market quotations. This may occur more often in times of market turmoil or reduced liquidity. There are multiple methods that can be used to value a portfolio holding when market quotations are not readily available. The value established for any portfolio holding at a point in time might differ from what would be produced using a different methodology or if it had been priced using market quotations. Portfolio holdings that are valued using techniques other than market quotations, including “fair valued” securities, may be subject to greater fluctuation in their valuations from one day to the next than if market quotations were used. In addition, there is no assurance that the Fund could sell or close out a portfolio position for the value established for it at any time, and it is possible that the Fund would incur a loss because a portfolio position is sold or closed out at a discount to the valuation established by the Fund at that time. 
Fund Performance
The following bar chart and table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund's performance from year to year and by showing how the Fund's average annual returns for certain time periods compare with the average annual returns of the Index and of a relevant broad-based securities index. The Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available by calling 1-866-787-2257 or visiting our website at https://www.ssga.com/spdrs.
Annual Total Returns (years ended 12/31)*
  
Highest Quarterly Return: 18.29% (Q4, 2020)
Lowest Quarterly Return: -23.60% (Q1, 2020
* As of  09/30/2022, the Fund's Calendar Year-To-Date return was -21.50%. 
 
Average Annual Total Returns (for periods ended 12/31/21)
The after-tax returns presented in the table below are calculated using highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns will depend on your specific tax situation and may differ from those shown below. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold Fund Shares through tax-advantaged arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. The returns after taxes can exceed the returns before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit for a shareholder from realizing a capital loss on a sale of Fund Shares.
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  One
Year
Five
Years
Ten
Years
Return Before Taxes 21.11% 12.91% 11.17%
Return After Taxes on Distributions 20.29% 12.34% 10.60%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares 12.98% 10.29% 9.16%
The Global Dow (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes other than withholding taxes on reinvested dividends) 21.34% 12.91% 11.18%
S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) 28.71% 18.47% 16.55%
Portfolio Management
Investment Adviser
SSGA FM serves as the investment adviser to the Fund.
Portfolio Managers
The professionals primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund are Michael Feehily, Karl Schneider and Kathleen Morgan.
Michael Feehily, CFA, is a Senior Managing Director of the Adviser and the Head of Global Equity Beta Solutions in the Americas. He worked at the Adviser from 1997 to 2006 and rejoined in 2010.
Karl Schneider, CAIA, is a Managing Director of the Adviser and Deputy Head of Global Equity Beta Solutions in the Americas. He joined the Adviser in 1997.
Kathleen Morgan, CFA, is a Vice President of the Adviser and a Senior Portfolio Manager in the Global Equity Beta Solutions Group. She joined the Adviser in 2017.
Purchase and Sale Information
The Fund will issue (or redeem) Fund Shares to certain institutional investors (typically market makers or other broker-dealers) only in large blocks of Fund Shares known as “Creation Units.” Creation Unit transactions are conducted in exchange for the deposit or delivery of a designated portfolio of in-kind securities and/or cash.
Individual Fund Shares may only be purchased and sold on the NYSE Arca, Inc., other national securities exchanges, electronic crossing networks and other alternative trading systems through your broker-dealer at market prices. Because Fund Shares trade at market prices rather than at net asset value (“NAV”), Fund Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount). When buying or selling Fund Shares in the secondary market, you may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Fund Shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Fund Shares (ask) (the “bid-ask spread”). Recent information regarding the Fund's NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads is available at https://www.ssga.com/spdrs.
Tax Information
The Fund's distributions are expected to be taxed as ordinary income, qualified dividend income and/or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account. Any withdrawals made from such tax-advantaged arrangement may be taxable to you.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase Fund Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Adviser or its affiliates may pay the financial intermediary for certain activities related to the Fund, including educational training programs, conferences, the development of technology platforms and reporting systems, or other services related to the sale or promotion of the Fund. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
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SPDR® ICE Preferred Securities ETF
Investment Objective
The SPDR ICE Preferred Securities ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to provide investment results that, before fees and expenses, correspond generally to the total return performance of an index based upon Preferred Securities (as defined below).
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund (“Fund Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment):
Management fees 0.45%
Distribution and service (12b-1) fees None
Other expenses 0.00%
Total annual Fund operating expenses 0.45%
Example:
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated, and then sell or hold all of your Fund Shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
Year 1 Year 3 Year 5 Year 10
$46 $144 $252 $567
Portfolio Turnover:
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance.  During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 28% of the average value of its portfolio.
The Fund's Principal Investment Strategy
In seeking to track the performance of the ICE Exchange-Listed Fixed & Adjustable Rate Preferred Securities Index (the “Index”), the Fund employs a sampling strategy, which means that the Fund is not required to purchase all of the securities represented in the Index. Instead, the Fund may purchase a subset of the securities in the Index in an effort to hold a portfolio of securities with generally the same risk and return characteristics of the Index. The quantity of holdings in the Fund will be based on a number of factors, including asset size of the Fund. Based on its analysis of these factors, SSGA Funds Management, Inc. (“SSGA FM” or the “Adviser”), the investment adviser to the Fund, either may invest the Fund's assets in a subset of securities in the Index or may invest the Fund's assets in substantially all of the securities represented in the Index in approximately the same proportions as the Index, as determined by the Adviser to be in the best interest of the Fund in pursuing its objective. The Fund is classified as “diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended; however, the Fund may become “non-diversified” solely as a result of tracking the Index (e.g., changes in weightings of one or more component securities). When the Fund is non-diversified, it may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers.
Under normal market conditions, the Fund generally invests substantially all, but at least 80%, of its total assets in the securities comprising the Index. In addition, in seeking to track the Index, the Fund may invest in securities that are not included in the Index, cash and cash equivalents or money market instruments, such as repurchase agreements and money market funds (including money market funds advised by the Adviser). In seeking to track the Index, the Fund's 
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assets may be concentrated in an industry or group of industries, but only to the extent that the Index concentrates in a particular industry or group of industries. Futures contracts (a type of derivative instrument) may be used by the Fund in seeking performance that corresponds to the Index and in managing cash flows. 
The Index is designed to measure the performance of non-convertible preferred stock and securities that are functionally equivalent to preferred stock, including, but not limited to, senior and subordinated debt (collectively, “Preferred Securities”). Preferred Securities generally pay fixed rate distributions (but may pay distributions based on adjustable rates) and typically have “preference” over common stock in the payment of distributions and the liquidation of a company's assets — preference means that a company must pay distributions on its Preferred Securities before paying dividends on its common stock, and the claims of Preferred Securities holders are ahead of common stockholders' claims on assets in a corporate liquidation. The Index includes Preferred Securities that meet the following criteria: (i) are non-convertible; (ii) have a par amount of $25; (iii) are primarily listed on the NYSE or NASDAQ exchanges, (iv) have a minimum amount outstanding of $250 million; (v) are U.S. dollar denominated; (vi) are rated investment grade by one of Moody's Investors Service, Inc. or S&P Global Ratings ratings services; (vii) are publicly registered or exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933; (viii) have a fixed or floating rate coupon or dividend schedule; (ix) have a minimum average monthly trading volume of at least 250,000 trading units during the preceding six months; and (x) have at least 18 months to final maturity at time of issuance and a minimum remaining term to final maturity of at least one day. The Index may include securities of companies headquartered outside of the United States. The Index does not include auction rate preferred securities, convertible preferred shares, securities with a sinking fund, shares in closed-end funds, purchase units, purchase contracts, corporate pay-in-kind securities and derivative instruments. 
The Index is market capitalization weighted. The aggregate weight of securities of an individual issuer is limited to 5%, and any weight exceeding this limit will be redistributed on a pro-rata basis to securities of issuers that do not exceed the 5% limit. In the event the Index includes securities of fewer than 20 issuers, the aggregate weight of each issuer's securities will be equally weighted and the issuer's individual securities will be weighted on a pro-rata basis. The Index is rebalanced on the last calendar day of each month based on information available up to and including the third business day before the last business day of the month. As of August 31, 2022, a significant portion of the Fund comprised companies in the financial sector, although this may change from time to time. As of July 31, 2022, the Index comprised 150 Preferred Securities. 
The Index is sponsored by ICE Data Indices, LLC (the “Index Provider”), which is not affiliated with the Fund or the Adviser. The Index Provider determines the composition of the Index, relative weightings of the securities in the Index and publishes information regarding the market value of the Index. 
Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund
As with all investments, there are certain risks of investing in the Fund. Fund Shares will change in value, and you could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.
Market Risk: The Fund's investments are subject to changes in general economic conditions, general market fluctuations and the risks inherent in investment in securities markets. Investment markets can be volatile and prices of investments can change substantially due to various factors including, but not limited to, economic growth or recession, changes in interest rates, inflation, changes in the actual or perceived creditworthiness of issuers, and general market liquidity. The Fund is subject to the risk that geopolitical events will disrupt securities markets and adversely affect global economies and markets. Local, regional or global events such as war, military conflicts, acts of terrorism, natural disasters, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments.
Equity Investing Risk: The market prices of equity securities owned by the Fund may go up or down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons that may directly relate to the issuer and also may decline due to general industry or market conditions that are not specifically related to a particular company. In addition, equity markets tend to move in cycles, which may cause stock prices to fall over short or extended periods of time.
Preferred Securities Risk: Generally, Preferred Security holders have no or limited voting rights with respect to the issuing company. In addition, Preferred Securities are generally senior to common stock, but may be subordinated to bonds and other debt instruments in a company's capital structure and therefore may be subject to greater credit risk than those debt instruments. In the event an issuer of Preferred Securities experiences economic difficulties, the issuer's Preferred Securities may lose substantial value due to the increased likelihood of deferred interest or dividend payments and the fact that the Preferred Security may be subordinated to other 
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securities of the same issuer. Further, because many Preferred Securities pay interest or dividends at a fixed rate, their market price can be sensitive to changes in interest rates in a manner similar to bonds — that is, as interest rates rise, the value of the Preferred Securities held by the Fund are likely to decline. In addition, to the extent Preferred Securities allow holders to convert the Preferred Securities into common stock of the issuer, their market price can be sensitive to changes in the value of the issuer's common stock and, therefore, declining common stock values may also cause the value of the Fund's investments to decline. Preferred securities often have call features which allow the issuer to redeem the security at its discretion. The redemption of a Preferred Security having a higher than average yield may cause a decrease in the Fund's yield. 
Fluctuation of Net Asset Value, Share Premiums and Discounts Risk: As with all exchange-traded funds, Fund Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The trading prices of Fund Shares in the secondary market may differ from the Fund's daily net asset value per share and there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the net asset value per share (premium) or less than the net asset value per share (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines. 
Debt Securities Risk: The values of debt securities may increase or decrease as a result of the following: market fluctuations, changes in interest rates, actual or perceived inability or unwillingness of issuers, guarantors or liquidity providers to make scheduled principal or interest payments, or illiquidity in debt securities markets. To the extent that interest rates rise, certain underlying obligations may be paid off substantially slower than originally anticipated and the value of those securities may fall sharply. A rising interest rate environment may cause the value of the Fund's fixed income securities to decrease, an adverse impact on the liquidity of the Fund's fixed income securities, and increased volatility of the fixed income markets. During periods when interest rates are at low levels, the Fund's yield can be low, and the Fund may have a negative yield (i.e., it may lose money on an operating basis). To the extent that interest rates fall, certain underlying obligations may be paid off substantially faster than originally anticipated. If the principal on a debt obligation is prepaid before expected, the prepayments of principal may have to be reinvested in obligations paying interest at lower rates. During periods of falling interest rates, the income received by the Fund may decline. Changes in interest rates will likely have a greater effect on the values of debt securities of longer durations. Returns on investments in debt securities could trail the returns on other investment options, including investments in equity securities. 
Depositary Receipts Risk: Investments in depositary receipts may be less liquid and more volatile than the underlying securities in their primary trading market. If a depositary receipt is denominated in a different currency than its underlying securities, the Fund will be subject to the currency risk of both the investment in the depositary receipt and the underlying security. Holders of depositary receipts may have limited or no rights to take action with respect to the underlying securities or to compel the issuer of the receipts to take action. The prices of depositary receipts may differ from the prices of securities upon which they are based. To the extent the Fund invests in depositary receipts based on securities included in the Index, such differences in prices may increase index tracking risk. 
Financial Sector Risk: Financial services companies are subject to extensive governmental regulation, which may limit both the amounts and types of loans and other financial commitments they can make, the interest rates and fees they can charge, the scope of their activities, the prices they can charge and the amount of capital they must maintain. Profitability is largely dependent on the availability and cost of capital funds and can fluctuate significantly when interest rates change or due to increased competition. In addition, deterioration of the credit markets generally may cause an adverse impact in a broad range of markets, including U.S. and international credit and interbank money markets generally, thereby affecting a wide range of financial institutions and markets. Certain events in the financial sector may cause an unusually high degree of volatility in the financial markets, both domestic and foreign, and cause certain financial services companies to incur large losses. Securities of financial services companies may experience a dramatic decline in value when such companies experience substantial declines in the valuations of their assets, take action to raise capital (such as the issuance of debt or equity securities), or cease operations. Credit losses resulting from financial difficulties of borrowers and financial losses associated with investment activities can negatively impact the sector. Insurance companies may be subject to severe price competition. Adverse economic, business or political developments could adversely affect financial institutions engaged in mortgage finance or other lending or investing activities directly or indirectly connected to the value of real estate. 
Futures Contract Risk: A futures contract is a standardized agreement that calls for the purchase or sale of a specific asset at a specific price at a specific future time, or cash settlement of the terms of the contract. Transactions in futures contracts can create investment leverage and may have significant volatility. It is possible that a futures contract transaction will result in a much greater loss than the principal amount invested, and the 
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Fund may not be able to close out the futures contract at a favorable time or price. There is no assurance that a liquid secondary market on an exchange will exist for any particular futures contract. In the event no such market exists, it might not be possible to effect closing transactions, and the Fund will be unable to terminate its exposure to the futures contract. There is also a risk of imperfect correlation between movements in the prices of the futures contract and movements in the price of the underlying assets. The counterparty to a futures contract may be unable or unwilling to make timely settlement payments, return the Fund's margin, or otherwise honor its obligations. 
Indexing Strategy/Index Tracking Risk: The Fund is managed with an indexing investment strategy, attempting to track the performance of an unmanaged index of securities, regardless of the current or projected performance of the Index or of the actual securities comprising the Index. This differs from an actively-managed fund, which typically seeks to outperform a benchmark index. As a result, the Fund's performance may be less favorable than that of a portfolio managed using an active investment strategy. The structure and composition of the Index will affect the performance, volatility, and risk of the Index and, consequently, the performance, volatility, and risk of the Fund. Errors in index data, index computations or the construction of the Index in accordance with its methodology may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders. To the extent circumstances evolve in between reconstitutions, the Index may include, and the Fund may therefore hold for a period of time, securities of companies that do not align with the Index's objective and/or criteria. When there are changes made to the component securities of the Index and the Fund in turn makes similar changes to its portfolio, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio changes will be borne directly by the Fund and its shareholders. The Fund may recognize gains as a result of rebalancing or reconstituting its securities holdings to reflect changes in the securities included in the Index. The Fund also may be required to distribute any such gains to its shareholders to avoid adverse federal income tax consequences. While the Adviser seeks to track the performance of the Index (i.e., achieve a high degree of correlation with the Index), the Fund's return may not match the return of the Index. The Fund incurs a number of operating expenses not applicable to the Index, and incurs costs in buying and selling securities. In addition, the Fund may not be fully invested at times, generally as a result of cash flows into or out of the Fund or reserves of cash held by the Fund to meet redemptions. The Adviser may attempt to track the Index return by investing in fewer than all of the securities in the Index, or in some securities not included in the Index, potentially increasing the risk of divergence between the Fund's return and that of the Index. 
Non-Diversification Risk: To the extent the Fund becomes “non-diversified,” the Fund may hold a smaller number of portfolio securities than many other funds. To the extent the Fund invests in a relatively small number of issuers, a decline in the market value of a particular security held by the Fund may affect its value more than if it invested in a larger number of issuers. The value of Fund Shares may be more volatile than the values of shares of more diversified funds. The Fund may become non-diversified for periods of time solely as a result of tracking the Index (e.g., changes in weightings of one or more component securities). 
Non-U.S. Securities Risk: Non-U.S. securities (including depositary receipts) are subject to political, regulatory, and economic risks not present in domestic investments. There may be less information publicly available about a non-U.S. entity than about a U.S. entity, and many non-U.S. entities are not subject to accounting, auditing, legal and financial report standards comparable to those in the United States. Further, such entities and/or their securities may be subject to risks associated with currency controls; expropriation; changes in tax policy; greater market volatility; differing securities market structures; higher transaction costs; and various administrative difficulties, such as delays in clearing and settling portfolio transactions or in receiving payment of dividends. To the extent underlying securities held by the Fund trade on foreign exchanges that are closed when the exchange on which the Fund's shares trade is open, there may be deviations between the current price of an underlying security and the last quoted price for the underlying security on the closed foreign market. These deviations could result in the Fund experiencing premiums or discounts greater than those of ETFs that invest in domestic securities. Securities traded on foreign markets may be less liquid (harder to sell) than securities traded domestically. Foreign governments may impose restrictions on the repatriation of capital to the U.S. In addition, to the extent investments are made in a limited number of countries, events in those countries will have a more significant impact on the Fund. Investments in depositary receipts may be less liquid and more volatile than the underlying shares in their primary trading market. 
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Unconstrained Sector Risk: The Fund may invest a substantial portion of its assets within one or more economic sectors or industries, which may change from time to time. Greater investment focus on one or more sectors or industries increases the potential for volatility and the risk that events negatively affecting such sectors or industries could reduce returns, potentially causing the value of the Fund's Shares to decrease, perhaps significantly. 
Fund Performance
The following bar chart and table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund's performance from year to year and by showing how the Fund's average annual returns for certain time periods compare with the average annual returns of the Index and of a relevant broad-based securities index. The Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available by calling 1-866-787-2257 or visiting our website at https://www.ssga.com/spdrs.
Annual Total Returns (years ended 12/31)*
  
Highest Quarterly Return: 8.71% (Q1, 2019)
Lowest Quarterly Return: -10.03% (Q1, 2020
* As of  09/30/2022, the Fund's Calendar Year-To-Date return was -15.68%. 
 
Average Annual Total Returns (for periods ended 12/31/21)
The after-tax returns presented in the table below are calculated using highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns will depend on your specific tax situation and may differ from those shown below. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold Fund Shares through tax-advantaged arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. The returns after taxes can exceed the returns before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit for a shareholder from realizing a capital loss on a sale of Fund Shares. Effective May 1, 2021 (the “Benchmark Index Change Date”), the Fund's benchmark index changed from the Wells Fargo Hybrid and Preferred Securities Aggregate Index (the “Previous Benchmark Index”) to the ICE Exchange-Listed Fixed & Adjustable Rate Preferred Securities Index, consistent with a change in the Fund's principal investment strategy to track the performance of the current index. Performance of the Fund prior to the Benchmark Index Change Date is therefore based on the Fund's investment strategy to track the Previous Benchmark Index and may have been different had the Fund tracked the current index.
  One
Year
Five
Years
Ten
Years
Return Before Taxes 1.60% 6.00% 6.06%
Return After Taxes on Distributions -0.02% 4.16% 4.06%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares 1.35% 4.08% 4.04%
ICE Exchange-Listed Fixed & Adjustable Rate Preferred Securities Index/Wells Fargo Hybrid and Preferred Securities Aggregate Index1 (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) 2.02% 6.35% 6.36%
S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) 28.71% 18.47% 16.55%
1 Returns shown are reflective of the Index for periods beginning on the Benchmark Index Change Date and the Previous Benchmark Index for periods prior to the Benchmark Index Change Date.
Portfolio Management
Investment Adviser
SSGA FM serves as the investment adviser to the Fund.
Portfolio Managers
The professionals primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund are Karl Schneider, Amy Scofield and Michael Finocchi.
Karl Schneider, CAIA, is a Managing Director of the Adviser and Deputy Head of Global Equity Beta Solutions in the Americas. He joined the Adviser in 1997.
Amy Scofield is a Principal of the Adviser and a Portfolio Manager in the Global Equity Beta Solutions Group. She joined the Adviser in 2010.
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Michael Finocchi is a Principal of the Adviser and a Portfolio Manager in the Global Equity Beta Solutions Group. He joined the Adviser in 2005.
Purchase and Sale Information
The Fund will issue (or redeem) Fund Shares to certain institutional investors (typically market makers or other broker-dealers) only in large blocks of Fund Shares known as “Creation Units.” Creation Unit transactions are conducted in exchange for the deposit or delivery of a designated portfolio of in-kind securities and/or cash.
Individual Fund Shares may only be purchased and sold on the NYSE Arca, Inc., other national securities exchanges, electronic crossing networks and other alternative trading systems through your broker-dealer at market prices. Because Fund Shares trade at market prices rather than at net asset value (“NAV”), Fund Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount). When buying or selling Fund Shares in the secondary market, you may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Fund Shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Fund Shares (ask) (the “bid-ask spread”). Recent information regarding the Fund's NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads is available at https://www.ssga.com/spdrs.
Tax Information
The Fund's distributions are expected to be taxed as ordinary income, qualified dividend income and/or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account. Any withdrawals made from such tax-advantaged arrangement may be taxable to you.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase Fund Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Adviser or its affiliates may pay the financial intermediary for certain activities related to the Fund, including educational training programs, conferences, the development of technology platforms and reporting systems, or other services related to the sale or promotion of the Fund. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
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SPDR® MSCI USA StrategicFactorsSM ETF
Investment Objective
The SPDR MSCI USA StrategicFactorsSM ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to provide investment results that, before fees and expenses, correspond generally to the total return performance of an index based upon the U.S. equity market.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund (“Fund Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment):
Management fees 0.15%
Distribution and service (12b-1) fees None
Other expenses 0.00%
Total annual Fund operating expenses 0.15%
Example:
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated, and then sell or hold all of your Fund Shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
Year 1 Year 3 Year 5 Year 10
$15 $48 $85 $192
Portfolio Turnover:
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance.  During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 16% of the average value of its portfolio.
The Fund's Principal Investment Strategy
In seeking to track the performance of the MSCI USA Factor Mix A-Series Capped Index  (the “Index”), the Fund employs a sampling strategy, which means that the Fund is not required to purchase all of the securities represented in the Index. Instead, the Fund may purchase a subset of the securities in the Index in an effort to hold a portfolio of securities with generally the same risk and return characteristics of the Index. The quantity of holdings in the Fund will be based on a number of factors, including asset size of the Fund. Based on its analysis of these factors, SSGA Funds Management, Inc. (“SSGA FM” or the “Adviser”), the investment adviser to the Fund, either may invest the Fund's assets in a subset of securities in the Index or may invest the Fund's assets in substantially all of the securities represented in the Index in approximately the same proportions as the Index, as determined by the Adviser to be in the best interest of the Fund in pursuing its objective. The Fund is classified as “diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended; however, the Fund may become “non-diversified” solely as a result of tracking the Index (e.g., changes in weightings of one or more component securities). When the Fund is non-diversified, it may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers.
Under normal market conditions, the Fund generally invests substantially all, but at least 80%, of its total assets in the securities comprising the Index. In addition, in seeking to track the Index, the Fund may invest in equity securities that are not included in the Index, cash and cash equivalents or money market instruments, such as repurchase agreements and money market funds (including money market funds advised by the Adviser). In seeking to track the 
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Index, the Fund's assets may be concentrated in an industry or group of industries, but only to the extent that the Index concentrates in a particular industry or group of industries. Futures contracts (a type of derivative instrument) may be used by the Fund in seeking performance that corresponds to the Index and in managing cash flows. 
The Index is designed to measure the equity market performance of large-and mid-cap companies across the U.S. equity market. It aims to represent the performance of a combination of three factors: value, quality, and low volatility. The Index is an equal weighted combination of the following three MSCI Factor Indices in a single composite index: the MSCI USA Value Weighted Index, the MSCI USA Quality Index, and the MSCI USA Minimum Volatility Index (each, a “Component Index”). If the MSCI USA Minimum Volatility Index is not available due to the concentrated nature of its underlying parent index (for example, in the event of a low number of stocks or where a relatively few number of constituents constitutes a large proportion of index weight), the MSCI USA Minimum Volatility Index is replaced with the MSCI USA Risk Weighted Index (if used to replace the MSCI USA Minimum Volatility Index, also a “Component Index”) and the Index is an equal weighted combination of the MSCI USA Value Weighted Index, the MSCI USA Quality Index and the MSCI USA Risk Weighted Index. The Index Provider (defined below) determines if such replacement is necessary and reviews the MSCI USA Minimum Volatility Index for viability on a regular basis. The MSCI USA Value Weighted Index includes publicly-traded companies domiciled in the U.S., weighted to emphasize stocks with lower valuations, by giving higher index weight to stocks with higher values of fundamental variables such as sales, earnings, cash earnings and book value. The MSCI USA Quality Index includes publicly-traded companies domiciled in the U.S., weighted to emphasize stocks with historically high return on equity, stable year-over-year earnings growth, and low financial leverage. The MSCI USA Minimum Volatility Index aims to reflect the performance characteristics of a minimum variance strategy applied to publicly-traded companies domiciled in the U.S. and is weighted to provide the lowest absolute risk within a given set of constraints. The MSCI USA Risk Weighted Index includes publicly-traded companies domiciled in the U.S., and reweights the constituents so that stocks with lower volatility, measured as the weekly return variance over the prior three years, are given higher index weight. Each Component Index is attributed equal weight (1/3) at each rebalancing. All constituents of each Component Index are included in the Index. The weight of each security in the Index is determined based on 1) the security's weight in each underlying Component Index; and 2) the weight of each underlying Component Index in the Index. The Index is then subject to the MSCI A-Series Index Methodology. The MSCI A-Series Index Methodology first seeks to ensure the Index includes at least 25 constituents. In the event the Index does not contain at least 25 constituents, the Index is supplemented by including constituents of the MSCI USA Small Cap Index, selected in decreasing order based on full market capitalization, until the target of 25 constituents is reached. The MSCI A-Series Index Methodology then applies the MSCI 25/50 Index Methodology, which aims to reflect 5/25/50 weight constraints (i.e., no issuer has a weight above 25%, and the sum of weights of all issuers with weights above 5% does not exceed 50%). The Index is rebalanced semi-annually, usually as of the close of the last business day of May and November, coinciding with the semi-annual index reviews of the MSCI Global Investable Market Indices and of each Component Index. As of August 31, 2022, a significant portion of the Fund comprised companies in the technology and health care sectors, although this may change from time to time. As of July 31, 2022, the Index comprised 627 securities. 
The Index is sponsored by MSCI, Inc.  (the “Index Provider”), which is not affiliated with the Fund or the Adviser. The Index Provider determines the composition of the Index, relative weightings of the securities in the Index and publishes information regarding the market value of the Index. 
Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund
As with all investments, there are certain risks of investing in the Fund. Fund Shares will change in value, and you could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.
Market Risk: The Fund's investments are subject to changes in general economic conditions, general market fluctuations and the risks inherent in investment in securities markets. Investment markets can be volatile and prices of investments can change substantially due to various factors including, but not limited to, economic growth or recession, changes in interest rates, inflation, changes in the actual or perceived creditworthiness of issuers, and general market liquidity. The Fund is subject to the risk that geopolitical events will disrupt securities markets and adversely affect global economies and markets. Local, regional or global events such as war, military conflicts, acts of terrorism, natural disasters, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments. 
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Equity Investing Risk: The market prices of equity securities owned by the Fund may go up or down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons that may directly relate to the issuer and also may decline due to general industry or market conditions that are not specifically related to a particular company. In addition, equity markets tend to move in cycles, which may cause stock prices to fall over short or extended periods of time. 
Large-Capitalization Securities Risk: Returns on investments in securities of large companies could trail the returns on investments in securities of smaller and mid-sized companies. Larger companies may be unable to respond as quickly as smaller and mid-sized companies to competitive challenges or to changes in business, product, financial, or other market conditions. Larger companies may not be able to maintain growth at the high rates that may be achieved by well-managed smaller and mid-sized companies. 
Mid-Capitalization Securities Risk: The securities of mid-capitalization companies may be more volatile and may involve more risk than the securities of larger companies. These companies may have limited product lines, markets or financial resources, may lack the competitive strength of larger companies, and may depend on a few key employees. In addition, these companies may have been recently organized and may have little or no track record of success. The securities of mid-sized companies may trade less frequently and in smaller volumes than more widely held securities. Some securities of mid-sized issuers may be illiquid or may be restricted as to resale, and their values may be volatile. 
Fluctuation of Net Asset Value, Share Premiums and Discounts Risk: As with all exchange-traded funds, Fund Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The trading prices of Fund Shares in the secondary market may differ from the Fund's daily net asset value per share and there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the net asset value per share (premium) or less than the net asset value per share (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines. 
Futures Contract Risk: A futures contract is a standardized agreement that calls for the purchase or sale of a specific asset at a specific price at a specific future time, or cash settlement of the terms of the contract. Transactions in futures contracts can create investment leverage and may have significant volatility. It is possible that a futures contract transaction will result in a much greater loss than the principal amount invested, and the Fund may not be able to close out the futures contract at a favorable time or price. There is no assurance that a liquid secondary market on an exchange will exist for any particular futures contract. In the event no such market exists, it might not be possible to effect closing transactions, and the Fund will be unable to terminate its exposure to the futures contract. There is also a risk of imperfect correlation between movements in the prices of the futures contract and movements in the price of the underlying assets. The counterparty to a futures contract may be unable or unwilling to make timely settlement payments, return the Fund's margin, or otherwise honor its obligations. 
Health Care Sector Risk: Companies in the health care sector are subject to extensive government regulation and their profitability can be significantly affected by restrictions on government reimbursement for medical expenses, rising costs of medical products and services, pricing pressure (including price discounting), limited product lines and an increased emphasis on the delivery of healthcare through outpatient services. Companies in the health care sector are heavily dependent on obtaining and defending patents, which may be time consuming and costly, and the expiration of patents may also adversely affect the profitability of these companies. Health care companies are also subject to extensive litigation based on product liability and similar claims. In addition, their products can become obsolete due to industry innovation, changes in technologies or other market developments. Many new products in the health care sector require significant research and development and may be subject to regulatory approvals, all of which may be time consuming and costly with no guarantee that any product will come to market. 
Indexing Strategy/Index Tracking Risk: The Fund is managed with an indexing investment strategy, attempting to track the performance of an unmanaged index of securities, regardless of the current or projected performance of the Index or of the actual securities comprising the Index. This differs from an actively-managed fund, which typically seeks to outperform a benchmark index. As a result, the Fund's performance may be less favorable than that of a portfolio managed using an active investment strategy. The structure and composition of the Index will affect the performance, volatility, and risk of the Index and, consequently, the performance, volatility, and risk of the Fund. Errors in index data, index computations or the construction of the Index in accordance with its methodology may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders. To the extent circumstances evolve in between reconstitutions, the Index may include, and the Fund may therefore hold for a period of time, securities of 
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companies that do not align with the Index's objective and/or criteria. When there are changes made to the component securities of the Index and the Fund in turn makes similar changes to its portfolio, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio changes will be borne directly by the Fund and its shareholders. The Fund may recognize gains as a result of rebalancing or reconstituting its securities holdings to reflect changes in the securities included in the Index. The Fund also may be required to distribute any such gains to its shareholders to avoid adverse federal income tax consequences. While the Adviser seeks to track the performance of the Index (i.e., achieve a high degree of correlation with the Index), the Fund's return may not match the return of the Index. The Fund incurs a number of operating expenses not applicable to the Index, and incurs costs in buying and selling securities. In addition, the Fund may not be fully invested at times, generally as a result of cash flows into or out of the Fund or reserves of cash held by the Fund to meet redemptions. The Adviser may attempt to track the Index return by investing in fewer than all of the securities in the Index, or in some securities not included in the Index, potentially increasing the risk of divergence between the Fund's return and that of the Index. 
Low Volatility Risk: Although subject to the risks of common stocks, low volatility stocks are seen as having a lower risk profile than the overall markets. However, a portfolio comprised of low volatility stocks may not produce investment exposure that has lower variability to changes in such stocks' price levels. Low volatility stocks are likely to underperform the broader market during periods of rapidly rising stock prices. 
Non-Diversification Risk: To the extent the Fund becomes “non-diversified,” the Fund may hold a smaller number of portfolio securities than many other funds. To the extent the Fund invests in a relatively small number of issuers, a decline in the market value of a particular security held by the Fund may affect its value more than if it invested in a larger number of issuers. The value of Fund Shares may be more volatile than the values of shares of more diversified funds. The Fund may become non-diversified for periods of time solely as a result of tracking the Index (e.g., changes in weightings of one or more component securities). 
Quality Risk: A “quality” style of investing emphasizes companies with high returns on equity, stable earnings per share growth, and low financial leverage. This style of investing is subject to the risk that the past performance of these companies does not continue or that the returns on “quality” equity securities are less than returns on other styles of investing or the overall stock market. 
Technology Sector Risk: Market or economic factors impacting technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technological advances could have a major effect on the value of the Fund's investments. The value of stocks of technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technology is particularly vulnerable to rapid changes in technology product cycles, rapid product obsolescence, government regulation and competition, both domestically and internationally, including competition from foreign competitors with lower production costs. Stocks of technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technology, especially those of smaller, less-seasoned companies, tend to be more volatile than the overall market. Technology companies are heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights, the loss or impairment of which may adversely affect profitability. Additionally, companies in the technology sector may face dramatic and often unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for the services of qualified personnel. 
Unconstrained Sector Risk: The Fund may invest a substantial portion of its assets within one or more economic sectors or industries, which may change from time to time. Greater investment focus on one or more sectors or industries increases the potential for volatility and the risk that events negatively affecting such sectors or industries could reduce returns, potentially causing the value of the Fund's Shares to decrease, perhaps significantly. 
Valuation Risk: Some portfolio holdings, potentially a large portion of the Fund's investment portfolio, may be valued on the basis of factors other than market quotations. This may occur more often in times of market turmoil or reduced liquidity. There are multiple methods that can be used to value a portfolio holding when market quotations are not readily available. The value established for any portfolio holding at a point in time might differ from what would be produced using a different methodology or if it had been priced using market quotations. Portfolio holdings that are valued using techniques other than market quotations, including “fair valued” securities, may be subject to greater fluctuation in their valuations from one day to the next than if market quotations were used. In addition, there is no assurance that the Fund could sell or close out a portfolio position for the value established for it at any time, and it is possible that the Fund would incur a loss because a portfolio position is sold or closed out at a discount to the valuation established by the Fund at that time. 
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Value Stock Risk: A “value” style of investing is subject to the risk that the returns on “value” equity securities are less than returns on other styles of investing or the overall stock market. Value stocks present the risk that they may decline in price or never reach their expected full market value because the market fails to recognize a stock's intrinsic worth. 
Fund Performance
The following bar chart and table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund's performance from year to year and by showing how the Fund's average annual returns for certain time periods compare with the average annual returns of the Index and of a relevant broad-based securities index. The Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available by calling 1-866-787-2257 or visiting our website at https://www.ssga.com/spdrs.
Annual Total Returns (years ended 12/31)*
  
Highest Quarterly Return: 16.70% (Q2, 2020)
Lowest Quarterly Return: -19.32% (Q1, 2020
* As of  09/30/2022, the Fund's Calendar Year-To-Date return was -21.77%. 
 
Average Annual Total Returns (for periods ended 12/31/21)
The after-tax returns presented in the table below are calculated using highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns will depend on your specific tax situation and may differ from those shown below. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold Fund Shares through tax-advantaged arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. The returns after taxes can exceed the returns before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit for a shareholder from realizing a capital loss on a sale of Fund Shares.
  One
Year
Five
Years
Since Inception
(4/15/15)
Return Before Taxes 26.67% 17.16% 14.43%
Return After Taxes on Distributions 26.25% 16.60% 13.85%
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares 16.04% 13.73% 11.61%
MSCI USA Factor Mix A-Series Capped Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) 26.93% 17.40% 14.64%
S&P 500 Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) 28.71% 18.47% 15.13%
Portfolio Management
Investment Adviser
SSGA FM serves as the investment adviser to the Fund.
Portfolio Managers
The professionals primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund are Michael Feehily, Karl Schneider and John Law.
Michael Feehily, CFA, is a Senior Managing Director of the Adviser and the Head of Global Equity Beta Solutions in the Americas. He worked at the Adviser from 1997 to 2006 and rejoined in 2010.
Karl Schneider, CAIA, is a Managing Director of the Adviser and Deputy Head of Global Equity Beta Solutions in the Americas. He joined the Adviser in 1997.
John Law, CFA, is a Vice President of the Adviser and a Senior Portfolio Manager in the Global Equity Beta Solutions Group. He joined the Adviser in 2016.
Purchase and Sale Information
The Fund will issue (or redeem) Fund Shares to certain institutional investors (typically market makers or other broker-dealers) only in large blocks of Fund Shares known as “Creation Units.” Creation Unit transactions are conducted in exchange for the deposit or delivery of a designated portfolio of in-kind securities and/or cash.
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Individual Fund Shares may only be purchased and sold on the NYSE Arca, Inc., other national securities exchanges, electronic crossing networks and other alternative trading systems through your broker-dealer at market prices. Because Fund Shares trade at market prices rather than at net asset value (“NAV”), Fund Shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (premium) or less than NAV (discount). When buying or selling Fund Shares in the secondary market, you may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase Fund Shares (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for Fund Shares (ask) (the “bid-ask spread”). Recent information regarding the Fund's NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads is available at https://www.ssga.com/spdrs.
Tax Information
The Fund's distributions are expected to be taxed as ordinary income, qualified dividend income and/or capital gains, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or individual retirement account. Any withdrawals made from such tax-advantaged arrangement may be taxable to you.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase Fund Shares through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Adviser or its affiliates may pay the financial intermediary for certain activities related to the Fund, including educational training programs, conferences, the development of technology platforms and reporting systems, or other services related to the sale or promotion of the Fund. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
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SPDR® NYSE Technology ETF
Investment Objective
The SPDR NYSE Technology ETF (the “Fund”) seeks to provide investment results that, before fees and expenses, correspond generally to the total return performance of an index that tracks the performance of publicly traded technology companies.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund (“Fund Shares”). You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and Example below.
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment):
Management fees 0.35%
Distribution and service (12b-1) fees None
Other expenses 0.00%
Total annual Fund operating expenses 0.35%
Example:
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated, and then sell or hold all of your Fund Shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
Year 1 Year 3 Year 5 Year 10
$36 $113 $197 $443
Portfolio Turnover:
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund Shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance.  During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 17% of the average value of its portfolio.
The Fund's Principal Investment Strategy
In seeking to track the performance of the NYSE Technology Index (the “Index”), the Fund employs a sampling strategy, which means that the Fund is not required to purchase all of the securities represented in the Index. Instead, the Fund may purchase a subset of the securities in the Index in an effort to hold a portfolio of securities with generally the same risk and return characteristics of the Index. The quantity of holdings in the Fund will be based on a number of factors, including asset size of the Fund. Based on its analysis of these factors, SSGA Funds Management, Inc. (“SSGA FM” or the “Adviser”), the investment adviser to the Fund, either may invest the Fund's assets in a subset of securities in the Index or may invest the Fund's assets in substantially all of the securities represented in the Index in approximately the same proportions as the Index, as determined by the Adviser to be in the best interest of the Fund in pursuing its objective. The Fund is classified as “diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended; however, the Fund may become “non-diversified” solely as a result of tracking the Index (e.g., changes in weightings of one or more component securities). When the Fund is non-diversified, it may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in a limited number of issuers.
Under normal market conditions, the Fund generally invests substantially all, but at least 80%, of its total assets in the securities comprising the Index. In addition, in seeking to track the Index, the Fund may invest in equity securities that are not included in the Index, cash and cash equivalents or money market instruments, such as repurchase agreements and money market funds (including money market funds advised by the Adviser). In seeking to track the 
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Index, the Fund's assets may be concentrated in an industry or group of industries, but only to the extent that the Index concentrates in a particular industry or group of industries. Futures contracts (a type of derivative instrument) may be used by the Fund in seeking performance that corresponds to the Index and in managing cash flows. 
The Index is composed of 35 leading U.S.-listed technology-related companies. The investible universe of the Index comprises all stocks in the Technology sector and technology-related stocks in the Consumer Discretionary sector, as defined by the Index Provider (as defined below) that are listed on major U.S. stock exchanges and meet the following criteria as of the index rebalance reference date: (i) issued by a company with a minimum market capitalization of $2 billion and (ii) have a trailing 3-month average daily traded value of $10 million. Stocks must also meet at least one of the following three revenue- and sales-based criteria: (i) sales from the latest quarter increased compared to sales from the same quarter of the previous year, (ii) have only one consecutive quarter of negative sales growth over the last two years, or (iii) have revenue totals from the last four quarters that classify it within the top 75 companies within the specific industry classification designated to it by the Index Provider. Eligible stocks are then ranked based on market capitalization and liquidity, and the top 35 stocks are selected for inclusion in the Index. At least 75% of the companies included in the Index must be headquartered in the United States. The Index is equal-weighted and rebalanced annually after the close of trading on the third Friday of December. As of July 31, 2022 the Index comprised 35 stocks. 
The Index is sponsored by ICE Data Indices, LLC (the “Index Provider”), which is not affiliated with the Fund or the Adviser. The Index Provider determines the composition of the Index, relative weightings of the securities in the Index and publishes information regarding the market value of the Index. 
Principal Risks of Investing in the Fund
As with all investments, there are certain risks of investing in the Fund. Fund Shares will change in value, and you could lose money by investing in the Fund. An investment in the Fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.
Market Risk: The Fund's investments are subject to changes in general economic conditions, general market fluctuations and the risks inherent in investment in securities markets. Investment markets can be volatile and prices of investments can change substantially due to various factors including, but not limited to, economic growth or recession, changes in interest rates, inflation, changes in the actual or perceived creditworthiness of issuers, and general market liquidity. The Fund is subject to the risk that geopolitical events will disrupt securities markets and adversely affect global economies and markets. Local, regional or global events such as war, military conflicts, acts of terrorism, natural disasters, the spread of infectious illness or other public health issues, or other events could have a significant impact on the Fund and its investments.
Equity Investing Risk: The market prices of equity securities owned by the Fund may go up or down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. The value of a security may decline for a number of reasons that may directly relate to the issuer and also may decline due to general industry or market conditions that are not specifically related to a particular company. In addition, equity markets tend to move in cycles, which may cause stock prices to fall over short or extended periods of time.
Technology Sector Risk: Market or economic factors impacting technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technological advances could have a major effect on the value of the Fund's investments. The value of stocks of technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technology is particularly vulnerable to rapid changes in technology product cycles, rapid product obsolescence, government regulation and competition, both domestically and internationally, including competition from foreign competitors with lower production costs. Stocks of technology companies and companies that rely heavily on technology, especially those of smaller, less-seasoned companies, tend to be more volatile than the overall market. Technology companies are heavily dependent on patent and intellectual property rights, the loss or impairment of which may adversely affect profitability. Additionally, companies in the technology sector may face dramatic and often unpredictable changes in growth rates and competition for the services of qualified personnel.
Fluctuation of Net Asset Value, Share Premiums and Discounts Risk: As with all exchange-traded funds, Fund Shares may be bought and sold in the secondary market at market prices. The trading prices of Fund Shares in the secondary market may differ from the Fund's daily net asset value per share and there may be times when the market price of the shares is more than the net asset value per share (premium) or less than the net asset value per share (discount). This risk is heightened in times of market volatility or periods of steep market declines. 
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Concentration Risk: When the Fund focuses its investments in a particular industry or sector, financial, economic, business, and other developments affecting issuers in that industry, market, or economic sector will have a greater effect on the Fund than if it had not done so. 
Consumer Discretionary Sector Risk: The success of consumer product manufacturers and retailers is tied closely to the performance of the overall global economy, interest rates, competition and consumer confidence. Success depends heavily on disposable household income and consumer spending. Also, companies in the consumer discretionary sector may be subject to severe competition, which may have an adverse impact on their respective profitability. Changes in demographics and consumer tastes can also affect the demand for, and success of, consumer products and services in the marketplace. 
Futures Contract Risk: A futures contract is a standardized agreement that calls for the purchase or sale of a specific asset at a specific price at a specific future time, or cash settlement of the terms of the contract. Transactions in futures contracts can create investment leverage and may have significant volatility. It is possible that a futures contract transaction will result in a much greater loss than the principal amount invested, and the Fund may not be able to close out the futures contract at a favorable time or price. There is no assurance that a liquid secondary market on an exchange will exist for any particular futures contract. In the event no such market exists, it might not be possible to effect closing transactions, and the Fund will be unable to terminate its exposure to the futures contract. There is also a risk of imperfect correlation between movements in the prices of the futures contract and movements in the price of the underlying assets. The counterparty to a futures contract may be unable or unwilling to make timely settlement payments, return the Fund's margin, or otherwise honor its obligations. 
Indexing Strategy/Index Tracking Risk: The Fund is managed with an indexing investment strategy, attempting to track the performance of an unmanaged index of securities, regardless of the current or projected performance of the Index or of the actual securities comprising the Index. This differs from an actively-managed fund, which typically seeks to outperform a benchmark index. As a result, the Fund's performance may be less favorable than that of a portfolio managed using an active investment strategy. The structure and composition of the Index will affect the performance, volatility, and risk of the Index and, consequently, the performance, volatility, and risk of the Fund. Errors in index data, index computations or the construction of the Index in accordance with its methodology may occur from time to time and may not be identified and corrected by the Index Provider for a period of time or at all, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders. To the extent circumstances evolve in between reconstitutions, the Index may include, and the Fund may therefore hold for a period of time, securities of companies that do not align with the Index's objective and/or criteria. When there are changes made to the component securities of the Index and the Fund in turn makes similar changes to its portfolio, any transaction costs and market exposure arising from such portfolio changes will be borne directly by the Fund and its shareholders. The Fund may recognize gains as a result of rebalancing or reconstituting its securities holdings to reflect changes in the securities included in the Index. The Fund also may be required to distribute any such gains to its shareholders to avoid adverse federal income tax consequences. While the Adviser seeks to track the performance of the Index (i.e., achieve a high degree of correlation with the Index), the Fund's return may not match the return of the Index. The Fund incurs a number of operating expenses not applicable to the Index, and incurs costs in buying and selling securities. In addition, the Fund may not be fully invested at times, generally as a result of cash flows into or out of the Fund or reserves of cash held by the Fund to meet redemptions. The Adviser may attempt to track the Index return by investing in fewer than all of the securities in the Index, or in some securities not included in the Index, potentially increasing the risk of divergence between the Fund's return and that of the Index. 
Non-Diversification Risk: To the extent the Fund becomes “non-diversified,” the Fund may hold a smaller number of portfolio securities than many other funds. To the extent the Fund invests in a relatively small number of issuers, a decline in the market value of a particular security held by the Fund may affect its value more than if it invested in a larger number of issuers. The value of Fund Shares may be more volatile than the values of shares of more diversified funds. The Fund may become non-diversified for periods of time solely as a result of tracking the Index (e.g., changes in weightings of one or more component securities). 
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Fund Performance
The following bar chart and table provide an indication of the risks of investing in the Fund by showing changes in the Fund's performance from year to year and by showing how the Fund's average annual returns for certain time periods compare with the average annual returns of the Index and of a relevant broad-based securities index. The Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. Updated performance information is available by calling 1-866-787-2257 or visiting our website at https://www.ssga.com/spdrs.
Annual Total Returns (years ended 12/31)*
  
Highest Quarterly Return: 36.19% (Q2, 2020)
Lowest Quarterly Return: -18.59% (Q4, 2018
* As of  09/30/2022, the Fund's Calendar Year-To-Date return was -42.91%. 
Average Annual Total Returns (for periods ended 12/31/21)
The after-tax returns presented in the table below are calculated using highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Your actual after-tax returns will depend on your specific tax situation and may differ from those shown below. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold Fund Shares through tax-advantaged arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. The returns after taxes can exceed the returns before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit for a shareholder from realizing a capital loss on a sale of Fund Shares. Effective September 11, 2017, the Fund's benchmark was renamed the NYSE Technology Index due to a transfer of the Index's management to ICE Data Indices, LLC. Prior to September 11, 2017, the Fund's benchmark was named the Morgan Stanley Technology Index.
  One
Year