RTH Owns Amazon and Walmart. XRT Owns Everything Else. That 12% Gap in 2026 Is No Accident

RTH and XRT both target retail, but they differ in portfolio construction and resulting returns. RTH holds about 25 retail names weighted by market capitalization, with Amazon and Walmart dominating the fund. This structure makes RTH heavily influenced by mega-cap consumer platforms and related growth drivers. XRT holds about 75 names and rebalances quarterly to equal weight, giving each holding similar influence regardless of size. As a result, Amazon’s strong gains lift RTH more than XRT, while XRT’s broader mix of specialty and discretionary retailers faces more weakness. Over five years, RTH rises strongly while XRT declines, reflecting the impact of concentration versus diversification.

"RTH holds roughly 25 retail names and weights them by market capitalization. That means Amazon ( NASDAQ:AMZN | AMZ N Price Prediction), with a market cap of $2.9 trillion, plus Walmart ( NYSE:WMT) at roughly $1.06 trillion, dominate the portfolio. RTH is really a concentrated bet on mega-cap consumer platforms. Owning RTH means importing Amazon's AWS thesis into a retail allocation, because AWS posted 28% growth in Q1 2026, its fastest pace in 15 quarters, and that engine moves the fund."

"XRT takes the opposite approach. It holds roughly 75 names and rebalances them quarterly back to equal weight. A struggling auto parts chain, a regional apparel retailer, and Amazon all carry roughly the same vote. That makes XRT a purer read on brick-and-mortar retail health rather than a stealth tech position."

"Amazon climbed 19.26% from January 2 through May 13, and that single name drives a large share of RTH's return. In XRT, Amazon contributes the same as any other holding. Even strong YTD moves from Target ( NYSE:TGT) at 26.69% and Walmart at 18.48% have not been enough to offset weakness across XRT's long tail of specialty and discretionary retailers."

"The five-year picture is starker. RTH is up 60.78% while XRT is down 7.76%. That gap reflects two different asset classes wearing the same uniform."

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