Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

vsCompare their flowsaskIQ about these two fundsAsk the committee about these two funds
Across categories

FREL vs XLRE: Differences, Returns & Fees

Share
Share on XDownload as PDF

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, FREL returned +4.6% to XLRE's +4.3%; 67% of their weight is in the same names.

askIQ about this page

askIQ about FREL and XLRE

Net assets: $1.3bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Fidelity MSCI Real Estate Index ETF, and $8.0bn on Oct 27, 2026 for State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF.

At a glance
+4.6%
FREL total return, 1 year
+4.3%
XLRE total return, 1 year
0.08%
FREL expense ratio
0.08%
XLRE expense ratio

Pair scorecard

Both cost 0.08% a year; their one-year returns differ by 0.3 points; XLRE is 5.9 times larger.

FREL vs XLRE: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureFRELXLRE
Return
Total return, 1 year+4.6%+4.3%
Drawdown
Below its high8.4%, high on Jul 28, 20267.7%, high on Jul 28, 2026
Benchmark
What it tracksMSCI USA IMI Real Estate 25/25 IndexReal Estate Select Sector Index
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.08%0.08%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026$1.3bn$7.7bn
Holdings
Holdings in common67%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund47.5%58.9%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method

Risk and return

Oct 16, 2015 to Oct 23, 2026 · 575 weekly returns
FREL XLRE
Return
Total return edge XLRE +87.7% +102.9%
Annualized edge XLRE +5.9% +6.6%
Price return edge XLRE +24.5% +38.9%
Risk
Volatility edge XLRE (slight) 21.3% 20.8%
Max drawdown edge XLRE −39.3% −35.2%
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe edge XLRE 0.27 0.30
Sortino edge XLRE 0.38 0.44
Calmar edge XLRE 0.15 0.19
Reading

XLRE returned more: +102.9% to +87.7%. XLRE swung slightly less: 20.8% to 21.3%. XLRE fell less at its worst: −35.2% to −39.3%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured
Open ↓
Risk and return: FREL vs XLRE: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureFRELXLREEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return+87.7%+102.9%XLREPrice change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized+5.9%+6.6%XLRETotal return as a yearly rate.
Price return+24.5%+38.9%XLREPrice change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility21.3%20.8%XLRE (slight)Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation14.8%14.3%XLRE (slight)Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown−39.3%−35.2%XLREDeepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe0.270.30XLREReturn above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino0.380.44XLREReturn above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar0.150.19XLREAnnualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 575 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

67%

By the books each fund has filed, FREL and XLRE hold 67% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.

0 half 100%

half

67% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first FREL XLRE
Welltower Inc 9.08% 11.14%
Prologis Inc 7.94% 8.19%
Equinix Inc 5.24% 6.72%
Simon Property Group Inc 4.69% 4.76%
American Tower Corp 4.10% 5.84%
Digital Realty Trust Inc 3.95% 4.34%
Realty Income Corp 3.63% 4.34%
Public Storage 3.43% 4.87%
CBRE Group Inc 2.75% 3.95%
Ventas Inc 2.71% 4.28%
Iron Mountain Inc 2.29% 3.91%
Crown Castle Inc 2.09% 4.26%
Only in one fund ↓
Only in FREL
AvalonBay Communities Inc 1.68%
Equity Residential 1.46%
Jones Lang LaSalle Inc 1.07%
WP Carey Inc 1.03%
Sun Communities Inc 0.99%
Mid-America Apartment Communities Inc 0.98%
Omega Healthcare Investors Inc 0.91%
Lamar Advertising Co 0.89%
Only in XLRE
VIVMARK RESIDENTIAL 4.42%
MID AMERICA APARTMENT COMM 1.57%
FEDERAL REALTY INVS TRUST 1.00%
ALEXANDRIA REAL ESTATE EQUIT 0.73%
EMINI S+P REESTATEDEC26 -0.00%
Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

FREL Fidelity MSCI Real Estate Index ETF XLRE State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF
Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF
What it is Tracks an index Tracks an index of Real estate
Total return, 1 year +4.6% +4.3%
Expense ratio 0.08% 0.08%
Already in the S&P 500 72.7% 99.5%
Holdings 122 31
Net assets, FREL as of Sep 30, 2026 and XLRE as of Oct 27, 2026 $1.3bn $8.0bn

FREL and XLRE on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-5B6F741A52

FREL and XLRE are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?

  1. What each follows. FREL follows MSCI USA IMI Real Estate 25/25 Index and XLRE follows Real Estate Select Sector Index.
  2. Number of holdings. FREL holds 122 positions and XLRE holds 31.
  3. Size. FREL has $1.3bn in net assets and XLRE $7.7bn (net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026); XLRE is 5.9 times larger.

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.

Your saved page · Privacy.

Alert

XLRE flows, by email on Sundays.

One-click unsubscribe. See Privacy.

About each fund
FREL

FREL tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +4.6% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.08% a year. By its holdings filed for Jul 31, 2026, 73% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 122 positions, with the top ten at 47.5%. It sat 8.4% below its high of Jul 28, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

XLRE

XLRE tracks an index of Real estate. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +4.3% with distributions reinvested. 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 31 positions, with the top ten at 58.9%. It sat 7.7% below its high of Jul 28, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, FREL or XLRE?
In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FREL returned +4.6% and XLRE +4.3%.
Which is cheaper, FREL or XLRE?
Neither: FREL and XLRE both charge 0.08% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do FREL and XLRE overlap with the S&P 500?
By their latest filed holdings, 73% of FREL and 100% of XLRE by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.
Other comparisons
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, FREL against XLRE, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/frel-vs-xlre

Open data →

Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.