Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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IVV vs QUAL: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IVV returned +13.7% to QUAL's +13.1%; 45% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets: $885.1bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares Core S&P 500 ETF, and $48.2bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF.

At a glance
+13.7%
IVV total return, 1 year
+13.1%
QUAL total return, 1 year
0.03%
IVV expense ratio
0.15%
QUAL expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IVV costs 0.12 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.6 points; IVV is 18.2 times larger.

IVV vs QUAL: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureIVVQUAL
Return
Total return, 1 year+13.7%+13.1%
Benchmark
What it tracksS&P 500MSCI USA Sector Neutral Quality Index
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.03%0.15%
Net assets, as of Oct 26, 2026$880.6bn$48.3bn
Holdings
Holdings in common45%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund38.1%44.5%

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

Risk and return

Jul 26, 2013 to Oct 23, 2026 · 691 weekly returns
IVV QUAL
Return
Total return edge IVV (slight) +465.7% +444.7%
Annualized edge IVV (slight) +13.9% +13.6%
Price return edge Tie +348.9% +346.8%
Risk
Volatility edge Tie 16.0% 16.2%
Max drawdown edge Tie −31.8% −31.4%
Downside capture 99.7% 98.8%
Beta 0.99 0.97
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe edge IVV (slight) 0.78 0.75
Sortino edge IVV (slight) 1.12 1.09
Treynor 0.081 0.126
Calmar edge Tie 0.44 0.43
Against the benchmark
Alpha +0.1% a year +0.6% a year
Alpha t-stat 0.33 0.59
Information ratio 0.00 0.06
Tracking error 1.2% 3.7%

Each against its own benchmark: IVV against SPY, May 26, 2000 to Oct 23, 2026; QUAL against MLRG, Jul 26, 2013 to Oct 23, 2026.

Reading

IVV returned slightly more: +465.7% to +444.7%. IVV and QUAL swung about the same: 16.0% and 16.2%. IVV and QUAL fell about the same at their worst: −31.8% and −31.4%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured
Open ↓
Risk and return: IVV vs QUAL: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureIVVQUALEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return+465.7%+444.7%IVV (slight)Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized+13.9%+13.6%IVV (slight)Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return+348.9%+346.8%TiePrice change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility16.0%16.2%TieSpread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation11.1%11.2%TieLike volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown−31.8%−31.4%TieDeepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture99.3%98.8%Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture99.7%98.8%Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta0.990.97Not an edgeHow far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared1.000.95Not an edgeShare of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe0.780.75IVV (slight)Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino1.121.09IVV (slight)Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor0.0810.126Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar0.440.43TieAnnualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
BenchmarkSPYMLRGThe ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha+0.1% a year+0.6% a yearNot significantYearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat0.330.59Not an edgeHow sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range−0.4% to +0.5%−1.4% to +2.6%Includes zeroThe 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio0.000.06Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error1.2%3.7%Not an edgeHow far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

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

45%

By the books each fund has filed, IVV and QUAL hold 45% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

0 half 100%

half

45% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first IVV QUAL
APPLE 7.61% 7.38%
NVIDIA 7.92% 6.28%
MICROSOFT 5.93% 8.09%
META PLATFORMS CLASS A 2.05% 4.06%
ALPHABET CLASS A 2.83% 1.82%
ELI LILLY 1.54% 4.04%
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC CLASS B 1.52% 1.94%
ALPHABET CLASS C 2.26% 1.43%
EXXONMOBIL HOLDINGS CORP 1.11% 2.50%
VISA CLASS A 1.03% 3.44%
JOHNSON & JOHNSON 0.97% 2.14%
WALMART 0.80% 1.04%
Only in one fund ↓
Only in IVV
AMAZON.COM INC 3.73%
BROADCOM INC 2.45%
TESLA INC 1.73%
MICRON TECHNOLOGY 1.57%
ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES 1.37%
JPMORGAN CHASE & CO 1.34%
ABBVIE 0.76%
INTEL CORPORATION 0.70%
Only in QUAL
COEUR MINING 0.08%
UNITED THERAPEUTICS 0.08%
FABRINET 0.07%
TRADEWEB MARKETS INC CLASS A 0.04%
Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

IVV iShares Core S&P 500 ETF QUAL iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF
Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF
What it is Tracks the S&P 500 Tracks the MSCI USA Quality Factor
Total return, 1 year +13.7% +13.1%
Its benchmark over the same days +13.6% (SPY) +13.6% (MLRG)
Gap to its benchmark +0.1 pts vs SPY −0.5 pts vs MLRG
Expense ratio 0.03% 0.15%
Already in the S&P 500 99.8% 97.2%
Holdings 505 119
Net assets, IVV as of Oct 27, 2026 and QUAL as of Oct 28, 2026 $885.1bn $48.2bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-DEC51F8B56

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

  1. What each follows. IVV follows S&P 500 and QUAL follows MSCI USA Sector Neutral Quality Index.
  2. Holdings in common. 45% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
  3. Number of holdings. IVV holds 505 positions and QUAL holds 119.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund
IVV

IVV tracks the S&P 500. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.7% with distributions reinvested, against +13.6% for its benchmark, the S&P 500. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% 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 505 positions, with the top ten at 38.1%.

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, IVV or QUAL?
In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IVV returned +13.7% and QUAL +13.1%.
Which is cheaper, IVV or QUAL?
IVV is cheaper, by 0.12 percentage points a year. That is about $12 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do IVV and QUAL overlap with the S&P 500?
By their latest filed holdings, 100% of IVV and 97% of QUAL by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.
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ETFIQ, IVV against QUAL, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ivv-vs-qual

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