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Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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BOXX vs QUAL: Differences, Returns & Fees

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BOXX is an actively managed short-term fund and QUAL an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, QUAL returned +13.1% against +4.0%.

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Net assets on Oct 28, 2026: $14.5bn for Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box ETF and $48.2bn for iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF.

BOXX on its own →QUAL on its own →
At a glance
+4.0%
BOXX total return, 1 year
+13.1%
QUAL total return, 1 year
0.19%
BOXX expense ratio
0.15%
QUAL expense ratio

Pair scorecard

QUAL costs 0.04 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 9.1 points; QUAL is 3.3 times larger.

BOXX vs QUAL: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureBOXXQUAL
Return
Total return, 1 year+4.0%+13.1%
Benchmark
What it tracksNo index, actively managedMSCI USA Sector Neutral Quality Index
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.19%0.15%
Net assets$14.5bn$48.2bn
Holdings
Holdings in commonnot published
In the S&P 500, by weight97%
Holdings datedOct 27, 2026
Top ten holdings, share of the fund44.5%

Method

Side by side

BOXX Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box ETF QUAL iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF
Where it sits Bond ETF Stock ETF
Issuer Alpha Architect iShares
What it is Actively managed Tracks the MSCI USA Quality Factor
Total return, 1 year +4.0% +13.1%
Its benchmark over the same days not measured +13.6% (MLRG)
Gap to its benchmark not measured −0.5 pts vs MLRG
Expense ratio 0.19% 0.15%
Holdings not counted 119
Net assets $14.5bn $48.2bn

BOXX and QUAL on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

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About each fund
BOXX

BOXX is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +4.0% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.19% a year.

QUAL

QUAL tracks the MSCI USA Quality Factor. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.1% with distributions reinvested, against +13.6% for its benchmark, the MSCI USA Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 97% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 119 positions, with the top ten at 44.5%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, BOXX or QUAL?
In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BOXX returned +4.0% and QUAL +13.1%.
Which is cheaper, BOXX or QUAL?
QUAL is cheaper, by 0.04 percentage points a year. That is about $4 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
BOXX vs GRNYBOXX vs IVVBOXX vs IWBBOXX vs DIAQUAL vs VBILMINT vs QUALQUAL vs USFRPULS vs QUAL
Where to next
BOXX on its own →QUAL on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →BOXX dividend history →QUAL dividend history →QUAL holdings →Standards and sources →
Sources and dates
BOXX filings on SEC EDGAR ↗
BOXX prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗
Alpha Architect website ↗
QUAL filings on SEC EDGAR ↗
QUAL prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗
iShares page for QUAL ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

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ETFIQ, BOXX against QUAL, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/boxx-vs-qual

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Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.