Only three of the more than 80 State Street Global Advisors exchange-traded funds expect to pay capital gains to investors at year-end, another example of a large ETF complex that has managed to strictly limit the percentage of its portfolios passing on any capital gains to investors.

This is the time of year in which ETF companies attempt to show their tax advantage over traditional mutual funds through the limited capital gains passed on to investors.

This year, in particular, with traditional fund managers faced with widespread redemptions and forced selling, equity mutual funds expect a high level of capital gains to be passed on to shareholders.

In the past two weeks, Barclays Global Investors said it expected only two iShares to pay capital gains, and WisdomTree Investments added that it expected no gains across its 41 ETFs.

In the case of SSgA, the following ETFs will distribute gains:

• S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF (NYSE Arca: XPH)
• Lehman Aggregate Bond ETF (NYSE Arca: LAG)
• Lehman 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF (NYSE Arca: BIL)

It's worth noting that the iShares fund that targets the same market as BIL, the iShares Lehman Short Treasury Bond Fund (NYSE Arca: SHV), is also paying out capital gains.

All of the payouts are minimal.  XPH expects a capital gain bill of $0.050, or 0.07% of a share; LAG expects to pay out $0.071 in gains, or 0.05%; and BIL expects to pay out a gain of $0.013, or 0.01%. The data is projected through Nov. 19 and is subject to change by year-end.