Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
AIRR vs XLU: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, AIRR returned −0.2% to XLU's −3.0%, and XLU charges 0.08% to AIRR's 0.69%.
askIQ about this page
askIQ about AIRR and XLU
Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $8.4bn for First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ETF and $23.9bn for State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF.
Pair scorecard
XLU costs 0.61 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 2.8 points; XLU is 2.8 times larger.
| Measure | AIRR | XLU |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | −0.2% | −3.0% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its all-time high | 25.5%, high on Jun 22, 2026 | |
| Below its high | 9.1%, high on Feb 27, 2026 | |
| Against its benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Reshoring and manufacturing | Utilities Select Sector Index |
| Against the S&P 500, 1 year | behind by 13.9 pts | |
| Against its benchmark, 1 year | behind by 13.9 pts | |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.69% | 0.08% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $8.4bn | $23.9bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 33% | 58.7% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Mar 21, 2014 to Oct 23, 2026 · 657 weekly returnsAIRR returned more: +394.7% to +214.0%. XLU swung less: 18.4% to 25.2%. XLU fell less at its worst: −32.1% to −40.6%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | AIRR | XLU | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +394.7% | +214.0% | AIRR | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +13.5% | +9.5% | AIRR | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +380.7% | +110.1% | AIRR | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 25.2% | 18.4% | XLU | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 16.7% | 12.8% | XLU | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −40.6% | −32.1% | XLU | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.55 | 0.47 | AIRR | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.83 | 0.68 | AIRR | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.33 | 0.30 | AIRR | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 657 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, AIRR and XLU hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
0% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
AIRR and XLU on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
AIRR and XLU do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. AIRR follows Reshoring and manufacturing and XLU follows Utilities Select Sector Index.
- Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 AIRR returned −0.2% and XLU −3.0% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 2.8 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
The two-page PDF for this pair is coming. Save the comparison to follow its changes. Free. It needs an email sign-in, once.
By weight, 15% of AIRR's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500, from its filing for Jun 30, 2026; its active share against the S&P 500 is 100%.
The top ten holdings are 33% of the fund across 55 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 the fund returned −0.2% with distributions reinvested against +13.7% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index, so a holder was behind by 13.9 pts. It sits 25.5% below its all-time high of Jun 22, 2026.
XLU
XLU tracks an index of Utilities. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −3.0% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.08% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 32 positions, with the top ten at 58.7%. It sat 9.1% below its high of Feb 27, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Are AIRR and XLU in the same category?
- AIRR is a thematic ETF and XLU is a stock ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
- Which returned more over the last year, AIRR or XLU?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AIRR returned −0.2% and XLU −3.0%.
- Which is cheaper, AIRR or XLU?
- XLU is cheaper, by 0.61 percentage points a year. That is about $61 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.
How this is computed
Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown
ETFIQ, AIRR against XLU, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/airr-vs-xlu
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). AIRR against XLU. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/airr-vs-xlu
[AIRR against XLU (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/airr-vs-xlu)
Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.