Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
COWZ vs XLV: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, COWZ returned +24.4% to XLV's +25.6%; 16% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $19.5bn for Pacer US Cash Cows 100 ETF and $47.0bn for State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF.
Pair scorecard
XLV costs 0.41 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.2 points; XLV is 2.4 times larger.
| Measure | COWZ | XLV |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +24.4% | +25.6% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Pacer US Cash Cows 100 Index | Health Care Select Sector Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.49% | 0.08% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $19.5bn | $47.0bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 16% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 20.4% | 60.6% |
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 +206.1%. XLV swung less: 17.0% to 19.6%. XLV fell less at its worst: −24.3% to −36.3%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | COWZ | XLV | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +251.9% | +206.1% | COWZ | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +13.6% | +12.0% | COWZ | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +188.5% | +160.1% | COWZ | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 19.6% | 17.0% | XLV | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 13.8% | 11.8% | XLV | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −36.3% | −24.3% | XLV | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.62 | 0.60 | COWZ (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.89 | 0.87 | Tie | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.38 | 0.49 | XLV | 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 XLV hold 16% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
16% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
COWZ and XLV on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
COWZ and XLV do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. COWZ follows Pacer US Cash Cows 100 Index and XLV follows Health Care Select Sector Index.
- Holdings in common. 16% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026).
- Cost. COWZ charges 0.49% of assets a year and XLV 0.08%, a gap of 0.41 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%.
XLV
XLV tracks an index of Health care. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +25.6% 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 62 positions, with the top ten at 60.6%.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, COWZ or XLV?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, COWZ returned +24.4% and XLV +25.6%.
- Which is cheaper, COWZ or XLV?
- XLV is cheaper, by 0.41 percentage points a year. That is about $41 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 XLV, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/cowz-vs-xlv
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). COWZ against XLV. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/cowz-vs-xlv
[COWZ against XLV (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/cowz-vs-xlv)
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