Data as of Sep 12, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.
QUAL vs SPHQ: how they differ
QUAL and SPHQ hold 40% of their weight in the same names, and SPHQ returned more over the year.
iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF and Invesco S&P 500 Quality ETF.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, QUAL and SPHQ hold 40% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | QUAL | SPHQ |
|---|---|---|
| APPLE INC. | 6.28% | 4.51% |
| LAM RESEARCH CORPORATION | 3.23% | 4.10% |
| VISA INC. | 3.09% | 4.69% |
| KLA CORPORATION | 2.79% | 3.27% |
| CATERPILLAR INC. | 2.52% | 3.78% |
| APPLIED MATERIALS, INC. | 2.45% | 2.80% |
| MASTERCARD INCORPORATED | 2.30% | 4.32% |
| THE TJX COMPANIES, INC. | 3.19% | 1.79% |
| QUALCOMM INCORPORATED | 1.42% | 2.03% |
| COSTCO WHOLESALE CORPORATION | 1.31% | 4.82% |
| ADOBE INC. | 1.19% | 1.45% |
| MERCK & CO., INC. | 1.08% | 2.87% |
| Only in QUAL | Only in SPHQ |
|---|---|
| NVIDIA CORPORATION 6.52% | General Electric Co. 4.16% |
| MICROSOFT CORPORATION 5.05% | Cisco Systems, Inc. 3.54% |
| META PLATFORMS, INC. 3.50% | GE Vernova Inc. 3.15% |
| ELI LILLY AND COMPANY 2.92% | Gilead Sciences, Inc. 2.28% |
| ALPHABET INC. 2.54% | Western Digital Corp. 2.15% |
| ALPHABET INC. 2.12% | Eaton Corp. PLC 1.65% |
| BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. 2.12% | 3M Co. 1.17% |
| NETFLIX, INC. 2.00% | Parker-Hannifin Corp. 1.08% |
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.
| QUAL iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF | SPHQ Invesco S&P 500 Quality ETF | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Core index fund | Core index fund |
| Issuer | iShares | Invesco |
| What it is | MSCI USA Quality Factor | S&P 500 Quality |
| Total return, 1 year | +16.0% | +17.4% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +17.5% | +17.5% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | −1.5 pts | −0.1 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.15% | 0.15% |
| Already in the S&P 500 | 98.9% | 99.9% |
| Holdings | 121 | 99 |
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.
SPHQ in plain words
SPHQ is an index equity fund tracking the S&P 500 Quality. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +17.4% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. By its holdings filed for Apr 30, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 99 positions, with the top ten at 40.7%. It sat 6.1% below its high of Jun 30, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, QUAL or SPHQ?
- In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QUAL returned +16.0% and SPHQ returned +17.4%, so SPHQ returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
- Which is cheaper, QUAL or SPHQ?
- QUAL charges 0.15% a year and SPHQ charges 0.15%, so QUAL is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
- How much do QUAL and SPHQ overlap with the S&P 500?
- By their latest filed holdings, 99% of QUAL and 100% of SPHQ by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds. Between the two funds, 40% of their books are the same securities at the same weight.
Other comparisons
Where to next
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 SPHQ, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/QUAL-SPHQ Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources