Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
GARP vs XLF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, GARP returned +18.0% to XLF's +7.6%; 6% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $3.6bn for iShares MSCI USA Quality GARP ETF and $51.6bn for State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF.
Pair scorecard
XLF costs 0.07 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 10.4 points; XLF is 14.3 times larger.
| Measure | GARP | XLF |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +18.0% | +7.6% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 7.0%, high on Oct 6, 2026 | 3.8%, high on Sep 3, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | MSCI USA Quality GARP Select Index | Financial Select Sector Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.15% | 0.08% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $3.6bn | $51.6bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 6% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 43.5% | 57.4% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Jan 24, 2020 to Oct 23, 2026 · 352 weekly returnsGARP returned more: +232.4% to +108.3%. GARP swung slightly less: 22.3% to 23.9%. GARP fell less at its worst: −30.1% to −39.3%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | GARP | XLF | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +232.4% | +108.3% | GARP | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +19.4% | +11.5% | GARP | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +215.4% | +83.9% | GARP | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 22.3% | 23.9% | GARP (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 14.9% | 16.6% | GARP | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −30.1% | −39.3% | GARP | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.78 | 0.45 | GARP | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 1.16 | 0.65 | GARP | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.65 | 0.29 | GARP | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 352 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, GARP and XLF hold 6% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
6% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
GARP and XLF on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
GARP and XLF do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. GARP follows MSCI USA Quality GARP Select Index and XLF follows Financial Select Sector Index.
- Holdings in common. 6% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 GARP returned +18.0% and XLF +7.6% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 10.4 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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GARP
GARP tracks the MSCI USA Quality GARP. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +18.0% with distributions reinvested, against +13.3% 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, 94% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 131 positions, with the top ten at 43.5%. It sat 7.0% below its high of Oct 6, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
XLF
XLF tracks an index of Financials. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +7.6% 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 77 positions, with the top ten at 57.4%. It sat 3.8% below its high of Sep 3, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, GARP or XLF?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GARP returned +18.0% and XLF +7.6%.
- Which is cheaper, GARP or XLF?
- XLF 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.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown
ETFIQ, GARP against XLF, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/garp-vs-xlf
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). GARP against XLF. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/garp-vs-xlf
[GARP against XLF (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/garp-vs-xlf)
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