Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
DGRO vs QUAL: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, DGRO returned +18.8% to QUAL's +13.1%; 31% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $44.6bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF, and $48.2bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF.
Pair scorecard
DGRO costs 0.07 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.7 points; QUAL is 1.1 times larger.
| Measure | DGRO | QUAL |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +18.8% | +13.1% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index | MSCI USA Sector Neutral Quality Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.08% | 0.15% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 26, 2026 | $44.7bn | $48.3bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 31% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 27.2% | 44.5% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Jun 20, 2014 to Oct 23, 2026 · 644 weekly returnsQUAL returned more: +359.1% to +321.3%. DGRO swung slightly less: 15.3% to 16.6%. QUAL fell slightly less at its worst: −31.4% to −32.1%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | DGRO | QUAL | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +321.3% | +359.1% | QUAL | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +12.3% | +13.1% | QUAL (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +216.7% | +280.4% | QUAL | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 15.3% | 16.6% | DGRO (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 10.7% | 11.5% | DGRO (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −32.1% | −31.4% | QUAL (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.70 | 0.70 | Tie | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 1.00 | 1.01 | Tie | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.38 | 0.42 | QUAL (slight) | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 644 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, DGRO and QUAL hold 31% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
31% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
DGRO and QUAL on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
DGRO and QUAL do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. DGRO follows Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index and QUAL follows MSCI USA Sector Neutral Quality Index.
- Holdings in common. 31% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 DGRO returned +18.8% and QUAL +13.1% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 5.7 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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DGRO
DGRO tracks an index of Dividend Growth. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +18.8% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.08% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 92% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 393 positions, with the top ten at 27.2%.
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, DGRO or QUAL?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, DGRO returned +18.8% and QUAL +13.1%.
- Which is cheaper, DGRO or QUAL?
- DGRO is cheaper, by 0.07 percentage points a year. That is about $7 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, DGRO against QUAL, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dgro-vs-qual
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). DGRO against QUAL. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dgro-vs-qual
[DGRO against QUAL (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dgro-vs-qual)
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