GameStop Stock Rally Passes by Some Previous Winners

A number of exchange-traded funds that benefited from the early-year surge in meme stocks have since backed away

Many exchange-traded funds that scored big on the meme-stock craze earlier this year are missing out on large gains this time around.

State Street’s SPDR S&P Retail ETF had roughly one-fifth of its assets in GameStop GME 3.54% earlier this year, helping it score a 37% return in January. But by August, GameStop shares represented less than 1% of the fund’s assets. So when the stock took flight again last week, rising nearly 30%, the ETF gained just 2%.