Riding Apple Rally with ETFs (AAPL, IYW, XLK, VGT, IXN)

In the last two months shares of Apple AAPL stock have outpaced the market with a gain of 16.6 percent. A breakout last week has the company in positive territory for the year, sitting with a gain of nearly 5 percent in 2013.

The recent rally from the lows has helped improve the chart on AAPL in the short-term, but the stock remains 21 percent below the all-time high set in 2012. The question is whether the stock has more room to run or if the recent rally is merely a short-term bounce. Investors that would like a piece of AAPL, but are weary that the company may still face some issues should consider an ETF with exposure to the stock.

Below are four tech ETFs with the highest exposure to AAPL stock.

iShares U.S. Tech ETF IYW

The ETF that has the largest exposure to AAPL stock is IYW, with an allocation of 17.8 percent. The heavy weighting towards AAPL has held the ETF back slightly this year with a gain of 20 percent, lagging the overall market and the tech sector. Two other large-cap tech stocks also account for at least 10 percent of the portfolio. Google GOOG andMicrosoft MSFT make up 21 percent of IYW. The ETF charges an annual expense ratio of 0.46 percent.

SPDR Technology Sector ETF XLK

The top three holdings are the same as IYW with the only difference being a lower weighting for each stock. AAPL accounts for 15.4 percent of the portfolio with GOOG and MSFT accounting for 18 percent. The ETF is also up 20 percent in 2013 and charges an annual expense ratio of 0.18 percent.

Vanguard Information Technology ETF VGT

Another ETF with the same top three holdings is VGT. AAPL makes up 14.1 percent of the ETF that charges an annual expense ratio of 0.14 percent. The ETF is up 25.3 percent this year, outpacing the first two ETFs by 25 percent. The lower expense ratio and more diverse portfolio helped the ETF to a better total return in the last eleven months.

iShares Global Tech ETF IXN

This ETF has the same three stocks as the top holdings, but a major difference is that IXN invests in companies based outside the U.S. There is currently 23 percent of the portfolio invested overseas, led by Japan at 6 percent. The portfolio allocation of AAPL is 13.5 percent and MSFT and GOOG make up 16 percent. The expense ratio is 0.48 percent. The lower allocation to AAPL and the international exposure did not help the ETF beat its peers, as it also gained 20 percent this year.