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Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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BOXX vs XLB: Differences, Returns & Fees

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BOXX is an actively managed short-term fund and XLB an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, XLB returned +18.5% against +4.0%.

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Net assets: $14.5bn on Oct 28, 2026 for Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box ETF, and $8.1bn on Oct 27, 2026 for State Street Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF.

BOXX on its own →XLB on its own →
At a glance
+4.0%
BOXX total return, 1 year
+18.5%
XLB total return, 1 year
0.19%
BOXX expense ratio
0.08%
XLB expense ratio

Pair scorecard

XLB costs 0.11 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 14.5 points; BOXX is 1.8 times larger.

BOXX vs XLB: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureBOXXXLB
Return
Total return, 1 year+4.0%+18.5%
Benchmark
What it tracksNo index, actively managedMaterials Select Sector Index
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.19%0.08%
Net assets, as of Oct 26, 2026$14.4bn$8.0bn
Holdings
Holdings in commonnot published
In the S&P 500, by weight100%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund58.5%

Method

Side by side

BOXX Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box ETF XLB State Street Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF
Where it sits Bond ETF Stock ETF
Issuer Alpha Architect State Street
What it is Actively managed Tracks an index of Materials
Total return, 1 year +4.0% +18.5%
Expense ratio 0.19% 0.08%
Holdings not counted 25
Net assets, BOXX as of Oct 28, 2026 and XLB as of Oct 27, 2026 $14.5bn $8.1bn

BOXX and XLB 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.

XLB

XLB tracks an index of Materials. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +18.5% 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 25 positions, with the top ten at 58.5%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, BOXX or XLB?
In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BOXX returned +4.0% and XLB +18.5%.
Which is cheaper, BOXX or XLB?
XLB is cheaper, by 0.11 percentage points a year. That is about $11 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
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Where to next
BOXX on its own →XLB on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →BOXX dividend history →XLB dividend history →XLB holdings →Standards and sources →
Sources and dates
BOXX filings on SEC EDGAR ↗
BOXX prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗
Alpha Architect website ↗
XLB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗
XLB prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗
State Street website ↗

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

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

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