Which returned more over the last year, VCLT or XLF?

In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, VCLT returned −4.8% and XLF returned +7.6%, so XLF returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.

Which is cheaper, VCLT or XLF?

VCLT charges 0.03% a year and XLF charges 0.08%, so VCLT is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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

ETFIQetfiq.com · independent ETF data

VCLT vs XLF: how they differ

VCLT and XLF hold 0% of their weight in the same names, and XLF returned more over the year.

Vanguard Long-Term Corporate Bond Index Fund and State Street(R) Financial Select Sector SPDR(R) ETF.

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, VCLT and XLF hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.

Largest positions each one holds and the other does not
Only in VCLT	Only in XLF
Anheuser-Busch Cos LLC / Anheuser-Busch 0.38%	Berkshire Hathaway Inc 12.10%
CVS Health Corp 0.34%	JPMorgan Chase & Co 11.57%
Meta Platforms Inc 0.29%	Visa Inc 7.51%
Boeing Co/The 0.27%	Mastercard Inc 5.47%
Pfizer Investment Enterprises Pte Ltd 0.27%	Bank of America Corp 4.91%
Amazon.com Inc 0.26%	Goldman Sachs Group Inc/The 3.94%
Oracle Corp 0.24%	Wells Fargo & Co 3.34%
AT&T Inc 0.24%	Morgan Stanley 3.31%

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.

VCLT and XLF on the fields both publish, as of Sep 12, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
	VCLT Vanguard Long-Term Corporate Bond Index Fund	XLF State Street(R) Financial Select Sector SPDR(R) ETF
Where it sits	Core index fund	Core index fund
Issuer	Vanguard	State Street
What it is	Long-Term Corporate Bond	Financials
Total return, 1 year	−4.8%	+7.6%
S&P 500 over the same days	+17.5%	+17.5%
Gap to the S&P 500	−22.3 pts	−9.9 pts
Expense ratio	0.03%	0.08%
Holdings	2775	76

VCLT in plain words

VCLT is a bond fund tracking the Long-Term Corporate Bond. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned −4.8% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. It sat 18.1% below its high of Sep 22, 2021 on Sep 11, 2026.

XLF in plain words

XLF is an index equity fund tracking the Financials. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +7.6% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.08% 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 76 positions, with the top ten at 57.7%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, VCLT or XLF?: In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, VCLT returned −4.8% and XLF returned +7.6%, so XLF returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
Which is cheaper, VCLT or XLF?: VCLT charges 0.03% a year and XLF charges 0.08%, so VCLT is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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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.

VCLT against XLF, 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, VCLT against XLF, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/VCLT-XLF Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources