Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
COWZ vs XBI: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, COWZ returned +24.4% to XBI's +41.2%, and XBI charges 0.35% to COWZ's 0.49%.
askIQ about this page
askIQ about COWZ and XBI
Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $19.5bn for Pacer US Cash Cows 100 ETF and $10.3bn for State Street SPDR S&P Biotech ETF.
Pair scorecard
XBI costs 0.14 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 16.8 points; COWZ is 1.9 times larger.
| Measure | COWZ | XBI |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +24.4% | +41.2% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its all-time high | 8.9%, high on Feb 8, 2021 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Pacer US Cash Cows 100 Index | Biotech |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.49% | 0.35% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $19.5bn | $10.3bn |
| Active share vs the S&P 500 | 98% | |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 5% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 20.4% | 18% |
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 returnsCOWZ returned more: +251.9% to +156.1%. COWZ swung less: 19.6% to 29.9%. COWZ fell less at its worst: −36.3% to −61.5%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | COWZ | XBI | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +251.9% | +156.1% | COWZ | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +13.6% | +10.0% | COWZ | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +188.5% | +152.6% | COWZ | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 19.6% | 29.9% | COWZ | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 13.8% | 19.9% | COWZ | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −36.3% | −61.5% | COWZ | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.62 | 0.38 | COWZ | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.89 | 0.58 | COWZ | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.38 | 0.16 | COWZ | 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 XBI hold 5% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
5% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
COWZ and XBI on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
COWZ and XBI do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. COWZ follows Pacer US Cash Cows 100 Index and XBI follows Biotech.
- Holdings in common. 5% 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 XBI +41.2% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 16.8 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
The two-page PDF for this pair is coming. Save the comparison to follow its changes. Free. It needs an email sign-in, once.
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%.
XBI
By weight, 13% of XBI's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 98%. The top ten holdings are 18% of the fund across 165 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 the fund returned +41.2% with distributions reinvested. It sits 8.9% below its all-time high of Feb 8, 2021.
Questions people ask
- Are COWZ and XBI in the same category?
- COWZ is a stock ETF and XBI is a thematic ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
- Which returned more over the last year, COWZ or XBI?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, COWZ returned +24.4% and XBI +41.2%.
- Which is cheaper, COWZ or XBI?
- XBI is cheaper, by 0.14 percentage points a year. That is about $14 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.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown
ETFIQ, COWZ against XBI, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/cowz-vs-xbi
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). COWZ against XBI. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/cowz-vs-xbi
[COWZ against XBI (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/cowz-vs-xbi)
Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.