Data as of Sep 12, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.
QUAL vs XBI: how they differ
QUAL and XBI hold 1% of their weight in the same names, and XBI returned more over the year.
iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF and State Street(R) SPDR(R) S&P(R) Biotech ETF.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, QUAL and XBI hold 1% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | QUAL | XBI |
|---|---|---|
| VERTEX PHARMACEUTICALS INCORPORATED | 0.42% | 1.06% |
| UNITED THERAPEUTICS CORPORATION | 0.09% | 0.93% |
| Only in QUAL | Only in XBI |
|---|---|
| NVIDIA CORPORATION 6.52% | Apogee Therapeutics Inc 1.49% |
| APPLE INC. 6.28% | Moderna Inc 1.41% |
| MICROSOFT CORPORATION 5.05% | Twist Bioscience Corp 1.41% |
| META PLATFORMS, INC. 3.50% | Oruka Therapeutics Inc 1.38% |
| LAM RESEARCH CORPORATION 3.23% | Kymera Therapeutics Inc 1.36% |
| THE TJX COMPANIES, INC. 3.19% | Viking Therapeutics Inc 1.31% |
| VISA INC. 3.09% | Praxis Precision Medicines Inc 1.29% |
| ELI LILLY AND COMPANY 2.92% | Erasca Inc 1.27% |
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 | XBI State Street(R) SPDR(R) S&P(R) Biotech ETF | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Core index fund | Core index fund |
| Issuer | iShares | State Street |
| What it is | MSCI USA Quality Factor | SPDR S&P Biotech |
| Total return, 1 year | +16.0% | +64.0% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +17.5% | +17.5% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | −1.5 pts | +46.5 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.15% | 0.35% |
| Already in the S&P 500 | 98.9% | 8.5% |
| Holdings | 121 | 150 |
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.
XBI in plain words
XBI is an index equity fund tracking the SPDR S&P Biotech. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +64.0% 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, 8% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 150 positions, with the top ten at 13.3%. It sat 9.6% below its high of Feb 8, 2021 on Sep 11, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, QUAL or XBI?
- In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QUAL returned +16.0% and XBI returned +64.0%, so XBI returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
- Which is cheaper, QUAL or XBI?
- QUAL charges 0.15% a year and XBI charges 0.35%, so QUAL is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
- How much do QUAL and XBI overlap with the S&P 500?
- By their latest filed holdings, 99% of QUAL and 8% of XBI by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds. Between the two funds, 1% 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 XBI, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/QUAL-XBI Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources