Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
BND vs XLV: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, BND returned −1.3% to XLV's +25.6%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $161.4bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF, and $47.0bn on Oct 27, 2026 for State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF.
Pair scorecard
BND costs 0.05 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 26.9 points; BND is 3.7 times larger.
| Measure | BND | XLV |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | −1.3% | +25.6% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 3.5%, high on Aug 6, 2020 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Float Adjusted Index | Health Care Select Sector Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.03% | 0.08% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $161.4bn | $43.4bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
| In the S&P 500, by weight | 100% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 60.6% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Apr 20, 2007 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,018 weekly returnsXLV returned more: +594.9% to +75.5%. BND swung less: 5.0% to 16.8%. BND fell less at its worst: −18.4% to −37.9%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | BND | XLV | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +75.5% | +594.9% | XLV | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +2.9% | +10.4% | XLV | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | −5.4% | +395.8% | XLV | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 5.0% | 16.8% | BND | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 3.7% | 11.9% | BND | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −18.4% | −37.9% | BND | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.29 | 0.58 | XLV | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.39 | 0.82 | XLV | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.16 | 0.27 | XLV | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,018 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, BND and XLV hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
0% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
BND and XLV on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
BND and XLV do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. BND follows Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Float Adjusted Index and XLV follows Health Care Select Sector Index.
- Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 BND returned −1.3% and XLV +25.6% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 26.9 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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BND
BND tracks an index of US aggregate bonds. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −1.3% with distributions reinvested, against −1.4% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Float Adjusted Index, measured by the closely related Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. It sat 3.5% below its high of Aug 6, 2020 on Oct 28, 2026.
XLV
XLV tracks an index of Health care. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +25.6% 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 62 positions, with the top ten at 60.6%.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, BND or XLV?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BND returned −1.3% and XLV +25.6%.
- Which is cheaper, BND or XLV?
- BND is cheaper, by 0.05 percentage points a year. That is about $5 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.
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ETFIQ, BND against XLV, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/bnd-vs-xlv
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). BND against XLV. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/bnd-vs-xlv
[BND against XLV (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/bnd-vs-xlv)
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