Data as of Sep 12, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.
QUAL vs XLV: how they differ
QUAL and XLV hold 9% of their weight in the same names, and XLV returned more over the year.
iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF and State Street(R) Health Care Select Sector SPDR(R) ETF.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, QUAL and XLV hold 9% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | QUAL | XLV |
|---|---|---|
| ELI LILLY AND COMPANY | 2.92% | 16.56% |
| JOHNSON & JOHNSON | 1.92% | 10.67% |
| MERCK & CO., INC. | 1.08% | 5.54% |
| UNITEDHEALTH GROUP INCORPORATED | 1.03% | 6.59% |
| ABBOTT LABORATORIES | 0.55% | 2.76% |
| VERTEX PHARMACEUTICALS INCORPORATED | 0.42% | 2.20% |
| IDEXX LABORATORIES, INC. | 0.28% | 0.72% |
| ZOETIS INC. | 0.22% | 0.53% |
| EDWARDS LIFESCIENCES CORPORATION | 0.17% | 0.91% |
| RESMED INC. | 0.12% | 0.49% |
| VEEVA SYSTEMS INC. | 0.08% | 0.47% |
| WEST PHARMACEUTICAL SERVICES, INC. | 0.07% | 0.44% |
| Only in QUAL | Only in XLV |
|---|---|
| NVIDIA CORPORATION 6.52% | AbbVie Inc 7.76% |
| APPLE INC. 6.28% | Amgen Inc 3.41% |
| MICROSOFT CORPORATION 5.05% | Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc 3.25% |
| META PLATFORMS, INC. 3.50% | Gilead Sciences Inc 2.74% |
| LAM RESEARCH CORPORATION 3.23% | Intuitive Surgical Inc 2.46% |
| THE TJX COMPANIES, INC. 3.19% | Pfizer Inc 2.40% |
| VISA INC. 3.09% | CVS Health Corp 2.30% |
| KLA CORPORATION 2.79% | Danaher Corp 2.10% |
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 | XLV State Street(R) Health Care Select Sector SPDR(R) ETF | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Core index fund | Core index fund |
| Issuer | iShares | State Street |
| What it is | MSCI USA Quality Factor | Health care |
| Total return, 1 year | +16.0% | +20.4% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +17.5% | +17.5% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | −1.5 pts | +2.9 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.15% | 0.08% |
| Already in the S&P 500 | 98.9% | 100.0% |
| Holdings | 121 | 59 |
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.
XLV in plain words
XLV is an index equity fund tracking the Health care. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +20.4% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.08% a year. By its holdings filed for Jun 30, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 59 positions, with the top ten at 61.7%. It sat 5.9% below its high of Aug 19, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, QUAL or XLV?
- In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QUAL returned +16.0% and XLV returned +20.4%, so XLV returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
- Which is cheaper, QUAL or XLV?
- QUAL charges 0.15% a year and XLV charges 0.08%, so XLV is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
- How much do QUAL and XLV overlap with the S&P 500?
- By their latest filed holdings, 99% of QUAL and 100% of XLV by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds. Between the two funds, 9% 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 XLV, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/QUAL-XLV Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources