Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
COWZ vs QUAL: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, COWZ returned +24.4% to QUAL's +13.1%; 8% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $19.5bn on Oct 27, 2026 for Pacer US Cash Cows 100 ETF, and $48.2bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF.
Pair scorecard
QUAL costs 0.34 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 11.3 points; QUAL is 2.5 times larger.
| Measure | COWZ | QUAL |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +24.4% | +13.1% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Pacer US Cash Cows 100 Index | MSCI USA Sector Neutral Quality Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.49% | 0.15% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 26, 2026 | $19.7bn | $48.3bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 8% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 20.4% | 44.5% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Dec 30, 2016 to Oct 23, 2026 · 512 weekly returnsQUAL returned slightly more: +271.1% to +251.9%. QUAL swung less: 17.4% to 19.6%. QUAL fell less at its worst: −31.4% to −36.3%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | COWZ | QUAL | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +251.9% | +271.1% | QUAL (slight) | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +13.6% | +14.2% | QUAL (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +188.5% | +222.5% | QUAL | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 19.6% | 17.4% | QUAL | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 13.8% | 12.1% | QUAL | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −36.3% | −31.4% | QUAL | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.62 | 0.71 | QUAL | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.89 | 1.02 | QUAL | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.38 | 0.45 | QUAL | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 512 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, COWZ and QUAL hold 8% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
8% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
COWZ and QUAL on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
COWZ and QUAL do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. COWZ follows Pacer US Cash Cows 100 Index and QUAL follows MSCI USA Sector Neutral Quality Index.
- Holdings in common. 8% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 COWZ returned +24.4% and QUAL +13.1% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 11.3 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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COWZ
COWZ tracks an index of US Cash Cows 100. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +24.4% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.49% a year. By its holdings filed for Jul 31, 2026, 95% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 100 positions, with the top ten at 20.4%.
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, COWZ or QUAL?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, COWZ returned +24.4% and QUAL +13.1%.
- Which is cheaper, COWZ or QUAL?
- QUAL is cheaper, by 0.34 percentage points a year. That is about $34 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, COWZ against QUAL, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/cowz-vs-qual
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). COWZ against QUAL. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/cowz-vs-qual
[COWZ against QUAL (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/cowz-vs-qual)
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