Data as of Sep 12, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.
QUAL vs SCHF: how they differ
QUAL and SCHF hold 0% of their weight in the same names, and SCHF returned more over the year.
iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF and Schwab International Equity ETF.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, QUAL and SCHF hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Only in QUAL | Only in SCHF |
|---|---|
| NVIDIA CORPORATION 6.52% | SK hynix Inc 2.83% |
| APPLE INC. 6.28% | ASML Holding NV 2.12% |
| MICROSOFT CORPORATION 5.05% | HSBC Holdings PLC 1.09% |
| META PLATFORMS, INC. 3.50% | Novartis AG 0.98% |
| LAM RESEARCH CORPORATION 3.23% | AstraZeneca PLC 0.94% |
| THE TJX COMPANIES, INC. 3.19% | Royal Bank of Canada 0.91% |
| VISA INC. 3.09% | Nestle SA 0.88% |
| ELI LILLY AND COMPANY 2.92% | Shell PLC 0.81% |
Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Apr 30, 2026 and May 31, 2026.
| QUAL iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF | SCHF Schwab International Equity ETF | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Core index fund | Core index fund |
| Issuer | iShares | Schwab |
| What it is | MSCI USA Quality Factor | International Equity |
| Total return, 1 year | +16.0% | +25.4% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +17.5% | +17.5% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | −1.5 pts | +8.0 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.15% | 0.03% |
| Already in the S&P 500 | 98.9% | 0.0% |
| Holdings | 121 | 1476 |
QUAL in plain words
QUAL is an index equity fund tracking the MSCI USA Quality Factor. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +16.0% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. By its holdings filed for Apr 30, 2026, 99% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 121 positions, with the top ten at 39.1%. It sat 3.1% below its high of Aug 13, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.
SCHF in plain words
SCHF is an index equity fund tracking the International Equity. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +25.4% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. By its holdings filed for May 31, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 1476 positions, with the top ten at 14.9%.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, QUAL or SCHF?
- In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QUAL returned +16.0% and SCHF returned +25.4%, so SCHF returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
- Which is cheaper, QUAL or SCHF?
- QUAL charges 0.15% a year and SCHF charges 0.03%, so SCHF is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
- How much do QUAL and SCHF overlap with the S&P 500?
- By their latest filed holdings, 99% of QUAL and 0% of SCHF by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds. Between the two funds, 0% of their books are the same securities at the same weight.
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Where these figures came from
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, QUAL against SCHF, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/QUAL-SCHF Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources