Data as of Sep 12, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.
URTH vs XLB: how they differ
URTH and XLB hold 1% of their weight in the same names, and URTH returned more over the year.
iShares MSCI World ETF and State Street(R) Materials Select Sector SPDR(R) ETF.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, URTH and XLB hold 1% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | URTH | XLB |
|---|---|---|
| NEWMONT CORPORATION | 0.13% | 5.85% |
| FREEPORT-MCMORAN INC. | 0.10% | 5.31% |
| THE SHERWIN-WILLIAMS COMPANY | 0.08% | 4.95% |
| ECOLAB INC. | 0.07% | 4.73% |
| AIR PRODUCTS AND CHEMICALS, INC. | 0.07% | 4.63% |
| NUCOR CORPORATION | 0.06% | 3.88% |
| CORTEVA, INC. | 0.06% | 4.97% |
| STEEL DYNAMICS, INC. | 0.04% | 3.73% |
| VULCAN MATERIALS COMPANY | 0.04% | 4.72% |
| MARTIN MARIETTA MATERIALS, INC. | 0.04% | 4.55% |
| PPG INDUSTRIES, INC. | 0.03% | 3.62% |
| DOW INC. | 0.03% | 2.64% |
| Only in URTH | Only in XLB |
|---|---|
| NVIDIA CORPORATION 5.64% | Linde PLC 14.08% |
| APPLE INC. 5.04% | CRH PLC 4.67% |
| MICROSOFT CORPORATION 3.50% | Smurfit Westrock PLC 3.25% |
| AMAZON.COM, INC. 2.86% | Amcor PLC 2.69% |
| ALPHABET INC. 2.43% | DuPont de Nemours Inc 2.48% |
| BROADCOM INC. 2.21% | Albemarle Corp 2.13% |
| ALPHABET INC. 2.01% | LyondellBasell Industries NV 1.82% |
| META PLATFORMS, INC. 1.51% | Mosaic Co/The 0.90% |
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 Jun 30, 2026 and May 31, 2026.
| URTH iShares MSCI World ETF | XLB State Street(R) Materials Select Sector SPDR(R) ETF | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Core index fund | Core index fund |
| Issuer | iShares | State Street |
| What it is | MSCI World | Materials |
| Total return, 1 year | +17.4% | +12.0% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +17.5% | +17.5% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | −0.1 pts | −5.5 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.24% | 0.08% |
| Already in the S&P 500 | 70.3% | 100.0% |
| Holdings | 1322 | 26 |
URTH in plain words
URTH is an index equity fund tracking the MSCI World. 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. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.24% a year. By its holdings filed for May 31, 2026, 70% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 1322 positions, with the top ten at 27.8%.
XLB in plain words
XLB is an index equity fund tracking the Materials. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +12.0% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.08% 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 26 positions, with the top ten at 58.5%. It sat 5.1% below its high of Aug 26, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, URTH or XLB?
- In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, URTH returned +17.4% and XLB returned +12.0%, so URTH returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
- Which is cheaper, URTH or XLB?
- URTH charges 0.24% a year and XLB charges 0.08%, so XLB is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
- How much do URTH and XLB overlap with the S&P 500?
- By their latest filed holdings, 70% of URTH and 100% of XLB 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.
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, URTH against XLB, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/URTH-XLB Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources