Data as of Sep 12, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.
QUAL vs SDY: how they differ
QUAL and SDY hold 14% of their weight in the same names, and QUAL returned more over the year.
iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF and State Street(R) SPDR(R) S&P(R) Dividend ETF.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, QUAL and SDY hold 14% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | QUAL | SDY |
|---|---|---|
| QUALCOMM INCORPORATED | 1.42% | 1.57% |
| JOHNSON & JOHNSON | 1.92% | 1.00% |
| NIKE, INC. | 0.93% | 1.15% |
| THE PROCTER & GAMBLE COMPANY | 0.93% | 1.26% |
| AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING, INC. | 0.88% | 1.54% |
| ATMOS ENERGY CORPORATION | 1.21% | 0.85% |
| LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION | 0.88% | 0.85% |
| ILLINOIS TOOL WORKS INC. | 0.78% | 1.03% |
| THE COCA-COLA COMPANY | 0.75% | 1.26% |
| ABBOTT LABORATORIES | 0.55% | 1.00% |
| CATERPILLAR INC. | 2.52% | 0.47% |
| Pepsico, Inc. | 0.46% | 1.33% |
| Only in QUAL | Only in SDY |
|---|---|
| NVIDIA CORPORATION 6.52% | Verizon Communications Inc 2.15% |
| APPLE INC. 6.28% | Realty Income Corp 2.14% |
| META PLATFORMS, INC. 3.50% | Kenvue Inc 1.76% |
| LAM RESEARCH CORPORATION 3.23% | Kimberly-Clark Corp 1.75% |
| THE TJX COMPANIES, INC. 3.19% | AbbVie Inc 1.63% |
| VISA INC. 3.09% | Texas Instruments Inc 1.56% |
| ELI LILLY AND COMPANY 2.92% | Target Corp 1.55% |
| KLA CORPORATION 2.79% | Edison International 1.45% |
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 Jun 30, 2026.
| QUAL iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF | SDY State Street(R) SPDR(R) S&P(R) Dividend ETF | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Core index fund | Core index fund |
| Issuer | iShares | State Street |
| What it is | MSCI USA Quality Factor | SPDR S&P Dividend |
| Total return, 1 year | +16.0% | +11.0% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +17.5% | +17.5% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | −1.5 pts | −6.5 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.15% | 0.35% |
| Already in the S&P 500 | 98.9% | 84.6% |
| Holdings | 121 | 155 |
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.
SDY in plain words
SDY is an index equity fund tracking the SPDR S&P Dividend. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +11.0% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.35% a year. By its holdings filed for Jun 30, 2026, 85% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 155 positions, with the top ten at 17.1%. It sat 3.9% below its high of Aug 24, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, QUAL or SDY?
- In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QUAL returned +16.0% and SDY returned +11.0%, so QUAL returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
- Which is cheaper, QUAL or SDY?
- QUAL charges 0.15% a year and SDY charges 0.35%, so QUAL is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
- How much do QUAL and SDY overlap with the S&P 500?
- By their latest filed holdings, 99% of QUAL and 85% of SDY by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds. Between the two funds, 14% of their books are the same securities at the same weight.
Other comparisons
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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 SDY, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/QUAL-SDY Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources