Which returned more over the last year, USMV or XLU?

In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, USMV returned +6.6% and XLU returned +2.4%, so USMV returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.

Which is cheaper, USMV or XLU?

USMV charges 0.15% a year and XLU charges 0.08%, so XLU is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

How much do USMV and XLU overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 95% of USMV and 100% of XLU by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds. Between the two funds, 8% of their books are the same securities at the same weight.

Data as of Sep 12, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.

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USMV vs XLU: how they differ

USMV and XLU hold 8% of their weight in the same names, and USMV returned more over the year.

iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF and State Street(R) Utilities Select Sector SPDR(R) ETF.

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, USMV and XLU hold 8% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.

Positions USMV and XLU both hold, largest shared weight first
Holding	USMV	XLU
DUKE ENERGY CORPORATION	1.55%	6.97%
THE SOUTHERN COMPANY	1.53%	7.62%
CONSOLIDATED EDISON, INC.	1.35%	2.88%
WEC ENERGY GROUP INC.	0.92%	2.69%
AMERICAN ELECTRIC POWER COMPANY, INC.	0.55%	5.26%
Xcel Energy Inc.	0.55%	3.54%
AMEREN CORPORATION	0.30%	2.21%
Dominion Energy, Inc.	0.25%	4.24%
CMS ENERGY CORPORATION	0.22%	1.67%
NEXTERA ENERGY, INC.	0.13%	12.93%
ATMOS ENERGY CORPORATION	0.07%	2.03%
DTE ENERGY COMPANY	0.06%	2.24%

Largest positions each one holds and the other does not
Only in USMV	Only in XLU
CISCO SYSTEMS, INC. 1.81%	Constellation Energy Corp 5.61%
NVIDIA CORPORATION 1.64%	Sempra 4.28%
EXXON MOBIL CORPORATION 1.60%	Entergy Corp 3.71%
MICROSOFT CORPORATION 1.56%	Vistra Corp 3.55%
AMPHENOL CORPORATION 1.51%	Exelon Corp 3.37%
Chubb Limited 1.50%	Public Service Enterprise Group Inc 2.86%
VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC. 1.49%	PG&E Corp 2.62%
WASTE MANAGEMENT, INC. 1.48%	NRG Energy Inc 2.18%

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.

USMV and XLU on the fields both publish, as of Sep 12, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
	USMV iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF	XLU State Street(R) Utilities Select Sector SPDR(R) ETF
Where it sits	Core index fund	Core index fund
Issuer	iShares	State Street
What it is	MSCI USA Min Vol Factor	Utilities
Total return, 1 year	+6.6%	+2.4%
S&P 500 over the same days	+17.5%	+17.5%
Gap to the S&P 500	−10.9 pts	−15.1 pts
Expense ratio	0.15%	0.08%
Already in the S&P 500	94.8%	100.0%
Holdings	170	31

USMV in plain words

USMV is an index equity fund tracking the MSCI USA Min Vol Factor. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +6.6% 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, 95% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 170 positions, with the top ten at 15.7%.

XLU in plain words

XLU is an index equity fund tracking the Utilities. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +2.4% 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 31 positions, with the top ten at 57.7%. It sat 10.0% below its high of Feb 27, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, USMV or XLU?: In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, USMV returned +6.6% and XLU returned +2.4%, so USMV returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
Which is cheaper, USMV or XLU?: USMV charges 0.15% a year and XLU charges 0.08%, so XLU is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do USMV and XLU overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 95% of USMV and 100% of XLU by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds. Between the two funds, 8% 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.

USMV against XLU, ETFIQ, data as of Sep 12, 2026. Every figure is arithmetic on a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page. ETFIQ, USMV against XLU, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/USMV-XLU Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources