Which returned more over the last year, VGSH or XLV?

In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, VGSH returned +1.8% and XLV returned +20.4%, so XLV returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.

Which is cheaper, VGSH or XLV?

VGSH charges 0.03% a year and XLV charges 0.08%, so VGSH 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

VGSH vs XLV: how they differ

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

Vanguard Short-Term Treasury 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, VGSH and XLV 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 VGSH	Only in XLV
United States Treasury Note/Bond 2.26%	Eli Lilly & Co 16.56%
United States Treasury Note/Bond 1.41%	Johnson & Johnson 10.67%
United States Treasury Note/Bond 1.36%	AbbVie Inc 7.76%
United States Treasury Note/Bond 1.32%	UnitedHealth Group Inc 6.59%
United States Treasury Note/Bond 1.31%	Merck & Co Inc 5.54%
United States Treasury Note/Bond 1.30%	Amgen Inc 3.41%
United States Treasury Note/Bond 1.27%	Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc 3.25%
United States Treasury Note/Bond 1.27%	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 and May 31, 2026.

VGSH and XLV on the fields both publish, as of Sep 12, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
	VGSH Vanguard Short-Term Treasury 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	Short-Term Treasury	Health care
Total return, 1 year	+1.8%	+20.4%
S&P 500 over the same days	+17.5%	+17.5%
Gap to the S&P 500	−15.7 pts	+2.9 pts
Expense ratio	0.03%	0.08%
Holdings	91	59

VGSH in plain words

VGSH is a bond fund tracking the Short-Term Treasury. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +1.8% 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.

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, VGSH or XLV?: In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, VGSH returned +1.8% and XLV returned +20.4%, so XLV returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
Which is cheaper, VGSH or XLV?: VGSH charges 0.03% a year and XLV charges 0.08%, so VGSH 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.

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

A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources