Which returned more over the last year, BOXX or XLE?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BOXX returned +4.0% and XLE +61.2%.

Which is cheaper, BOXX or XLE?

XLE 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.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

BOXX vs XLE: Differences, Returns & Fees

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BOXX is an actively managed short-term fund and XLE an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, XLE returned +61.2% against +4.0%.

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Net assets: $14.5bn on Oct 28, 2026 for Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box ETF, and $45.2bn on Oct 27, 2026 for State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF.

BOXX on its own →XLE on its own →

At a glance

+4.0%

BOXX total return, 1 year

+61.2%

XLE total return, 1 year

0.19%

BOXX expense ratio

0.08%

XLE expense ratio

Pair scorecard

XLE costs 0.11 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 57.2 points; XLE is 3.2 times larger.

BOXX vs XLE: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	BOXX	XLE
Return
Measure	BOXX	XLE
Total return, 1 year	+4.0%	+61.2%
Benchmark
Measure	BOXX	XLE
What it tracks	No index, actively managed	Energy Select Sector Index
Cost and size
Measure	BOXX	XLE
Expense ratio	0.19%	0.08%
Net assets, as of Oct 26, 2026	$14.4bn	$46.1bn
Holdings
Measure	BOXX	XLE
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight		100%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		78.1%

Method

Side by side

BOXX Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box ETF XLE State Street Energy 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 Energy

Total return, 1 year +4.0% +61.2%

Expense ratio 0.19% 0.08%

Holdings not counted 22

Net assets, BOXX as of Oct 28, 2026 and XLE as of Oct 27, 2026 $14.5bn $45.2bn

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

Alert

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.

XLE

XLE tracks an index of Energy. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +61.2% 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 22 positions, with the top ten at 78.1%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, BOXX or XLE?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BOXX returned +4.0% and XLE +61.2%.
Which is cheaper, BOXX or XLE?: XLE 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

BOXX vs VDE BOXX vs XOP BOXX vs IYE BOXX vs XLV VBIL vs XLE MINT vs XLE USFR vs XLE PULS vs XLE

Where to next

BOXX on its own →XLE on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →BOXX dividend history →XLE dividend history →XLE holdings →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

BOXX filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

BOXX prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Alpha Architect website ↗

XLE filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

XLE prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

State Street website ↗

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

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

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