Data as of Sep 12, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.
VBK vs XLV: how they differ
VBK and XLV hold 1% of their weight in the same names, and XLV returned more over the year.
Vanguard Small-Cap Growth Index Fund and State Street(R) Health Care Select Sector SPDR(R) ETF.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, VBK and XLV hold 1% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | VBK | XLV |
|---|---|---|
| Incyte Corp | 0.54% | 0.33% |
| Bio-Techne Corp | 0.31% | 0.19% |
| Insulet Corp | 0.30% | 0.18% |
| Only in VBK | Only in XLV |
|---|---|
| Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd 1.27% | Eli Lilly & Co 16.56% |
| REVOLUTION Medicines Inc 1.07% | Johnson & Johnson 10.67% |
| Astera Labs Inc 1.05% | AbbVie Inc 7.76% |
| Natera Inc 1.04% | UnitedHealth Group Inc 6.59% |
| Twilio Inc 0.88% | Merck & Co Inc 5.54% |
| Casey's General Stores Inc 0.83% | Amgen Inc 3.41% |
| Carpenter Technology Corp 0.82% | Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc 3.25% |
| Curtiss-Wright Corp 0.79% | Abbott Laboratories 2.76% |
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.
| VBK Vanguard Small-Cap Growth Index Fund | XLV State Street(R) Health Care Select Sector SPDR(R) ETF | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Core index fund | Core index fund |
| Issuer | Vanguard | State Street |
| What it is | Small-Cap Growth | Health care |
| Total return, 1 year | +13.8% | +20.4% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +17.5% | +17.5% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | −3.7 pts | +2.9 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.05% | 0.08% |
| Already in the S&P 500 | 10.2% | 100.0% |
| Holdings | 545 | 59 |
VBK in plain words
VBK is an index equity fund tracking the Small-Cap Growth. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +13.8% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.05% a year. By its holdings filed for Jun 30, 2026, 10% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 545 positions, with the top ten at 9.3%. It sat 7.0% below its high of Aug 17, 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, VBK or XLV?
- In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, VBK returned +13.8% and XLV returned +20.4%, so XLV returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
- Which is cheaper, VBK or XLV?
- VBK charges 0.05% a year and XLV charges 0.08%, so VBK is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
- How much do VBK and XLV overlap with the S&P 500?
- By their latest filed holdings, 10% of VBK and 100% of XLV 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, VBK against XLV, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/VBK-XLV Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources