Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
DIA vs QUAL: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, DIA returned +11.6% to QUAL's +13.1%; 25% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $45.9bn on Oct 27, 2026 for SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust, and $48.2bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF.
Pair scorecard
QUAL costs 0.01 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.5 points; QUAL is 1.1 times larger.
| Measure | DIA | QUAL |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +11.6% | +13.1% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 3.0%, high on Aug 5, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Dow Jones Industrial Average | MSCI USA Sector Neutral Quality Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.16% | 0.15% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 26, 2026 | $45.7bn | $48.3bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 25% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 54.7% | 44.5% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Jul 26, 2013 to Oct 23, 2026 · 691 weekly returnsQUAL returned more: +444.7% to +337.3%. DIA and QUAL swung about the same: 16.0% and 16.2%. QUAL fell slightly less at its worst: −31.4% to −34.5%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | DIA | QUAL | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +337.3% | +444.7% | QUAL | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +11.7% | +13.6% | QUAL | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +236.0% | +346.8% | QUAL | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 16.0% | 16.2% | Tie | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 11.2% | 11.2% | Tie | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −34.5% | −31.4% | QUAL (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.66 | 0.75 | QUAL | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.93 | 1.09 | QUAL | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.34 | 0.43 | QUAL | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 691 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, DIA and QUAL hold 25% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
25% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
DIA and QUAL on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
DIA and QUAL are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. DIA follows Dow Jones Industrial Average and QUAL follows MSCI USA Sector Neutral Quality Index.
- Holdings in common. 25% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
- Number of holdings. DIA holds 30 positions and QUAL holds 119.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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DIA
DIA tracks the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +11.6% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.16% 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 30 positions, with the top ten at 54.7%. It sat 3.0% below its high of Aug 5, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
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, DIA or QUAL?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, DIA returned +11.6% and QUAL +13.1%.
- Which is cheaper, DIA or QUAL?
- QUAL is cheaper, by 0.01 percentage points a year. That is about $1 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, DIA against QUAL, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dia-vs-qual
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). DIA against QUAL. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dia-vs-qual
[DIA against QUAL (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dia-vs-qual)
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