Which returned more over the last year, HDV or XLU?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, HDV returned +29.4% and XLU −3.0%.

Which is cheaper, HDV or XLU?

Neither: HDV and XLU both charge 0.08% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

How much do HDV and XLU overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 90% of HDV and 100% of XLU by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

HDV vs XLU: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, HDV returned +29.4% to XLU's −3.0%; 10% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $15.9bn for iShares Core High Dividend ETF and $23.9bn for State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF.

HDV on its own →XLU on its own →

At a glance

+29.4%

HDV total return, 1 year

−3.0%

XLU total return, 1 year

0.08%

HDV expense ratio

0.08%

XLU expense ratio

Pair scorecard

Both cost 0.08% a year; their one-year returns differ by 32.4 points; XLU is 1.5 times larger.

HDV vs XLU: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	HDV	XLU
Return
Measure	HDV	XLU
Total return, 1 year	+29.4%	−3.0%
Drawdown
Measure	HDV	XLU
Below its high		9.1%, high on Feb 27, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	HDV	XLU
What it tracks	Morningstar Dividend Yield Focus Index	Utilities Select Sector Index
Cost and size
Measure	HDV	XLU
Expense ratio	0.08%	0.08%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$15.9bn	$23.9bn
Holdings
Measure	HDV	XLU
Holdings in common	10%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	55.6%	58.7%

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

Risk and return

Apr 8, 2011 to Oct 23, 2026 · 811 weekly returns

HDV XLU

Return

Total return edge HDV +414.1% +347.9%

Annualized edge HDV (slight) +11.1% +10.1%

Price return edge HDV +197.8% +166.2%

Risk

Volatility edge HDV 13.9% 17.4%

Max drawdown edge XLU (slight) −33.4% −32.1%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge HDV 0.71 0.54

Sortino edge HDV 1.00 0.79

Calmar edge HDV (slight) 0.33 0.31

Reading

HDV returned more: +414.1% to +347.9%. HDV swung less: 13.9% to 17.4%. XLU fell slightly less at its worst: −32.1% to −33.4%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: HDV vs XLU: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	HDV	XLU	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+414.1%	+347.9%	HDV	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+11.1%	+10.1%	HDV (slight)	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+197.8%	+166.2%	HDV	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	13.9%	17.4%	HDV	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	9.8%	12.0%	HDV	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−33.4%	−32.1%	XLU (slight)	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.71	0.54	HDV	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	1.00	0.79	HDV	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.33	0.31	HDV (slight)	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 811 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

10%

By the books each fund has filed, HDV and XLU hold 10% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

10% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first HDV XLU

NEXTERA ENERGY 2.54% 12.76%

SOUTHERN 1.83% 7.91%

DOMINION ENERGY 1.10% 4.26%

XCEL ENERGY INC 0.76% 3.62%

PUBLIC SERVICE ENTERPRISE GROUP 0.66% 2.69%

WEC ENERGY GROUP 0.65% 2.69%

FIRSTENERGY CORP 0.50% 1.79%

DTE ENERGY 0.47% 2.05%

AMEREN 0.42% 2.23%

PPL CORP 0.41% 1.96%

CMS ENERGY 0.35% 1.60%

EVERGY 0.33% 1.46%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in HDV

EXXONMOBIL HOLDINGS CORP 9.48%

CHEVRON 7.22%

ABBVIE 6.77%

PROCTER & GAMBLE 5.46%

VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC 5.12%

PHILIP MORRIS INTERNATIONAL 5.04%

HOME DEPOT 4.57%

COCA-COLA 4.26%

Only in XLU

DUKE ENERGY CORP 7.22%

CONSTELLATION ENERGY 6.33%

AMERICAN ELECTRIC POWER 5.26%

SEMPRA 4.12%

ENTERGY CORP 3.75%

VISTRA CORP 3.43%

EXELON CORP 3.42%

CONSOLIDATED EDISON INC 3.16%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

HDV iShares Core High Dividend ETF XLU State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares State Street

What it is Tracks an index of High Dividend Tracks an index of Utilities

Total return, 1 year +29.4% −3.0%

Expense ratio 0.08% 0.08%

Already in the S&P 500 89.5% 99.7%

Holdings 77 32

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $15.9bn $23.9bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-2284BB317A

HDV and XLU do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

What each follows. HDV follows Morningstar Dividend Yield Focus Index and XLU follows Utilities Select Sector Index.
Holdings in common. 10% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 HDV returned +29.4% and XLU −3.0% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 32.4 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

HDV

HDV tracks an index of High Dividend. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +29.4% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.08% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 90% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 77 positions, with the top ten at 55.6%.

XLU

XLU tracks an index of Utilities. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −3.0% 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 32 positions, with the top ten at 58.7%. It sat 9.1% below its high of Feb 27, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, HDV or XLU?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, HDV returned +29.4% and XLU −3.0%.
Which is cheaper, HDV or XLU?: Neither: HDV and XLU both charge 0.08% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do HDV and XLU overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 90% of HDV and 100% of XLU by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

HDV vs VPU HDV vs XLY HDV vs XLC HDV vs VHT SPHD vs XLU VTV vs XLU PVAL vs XLU VLUE vs XLU

Where to next

HDV on its own →XLU on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →HDV dividend history →HDV holdings →XLU dividend history →XLU holdings →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

HDV filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

HDV prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for HDV ↗

XLU filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

XLU prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

State Street website ↗

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, HDV against XLU, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/hdv-vs-xlu

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