Which returned more over the last year, IWF or XLB?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IWF returned +0.9% and XLB +18.5%.

Which is cheaper, IWF or XLB?

XLB is cheaper, by 0.10 percentage points a year. That is about $10 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

How much do IWF and XLB overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 94% of IWF and 100% of XLB by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

IWF vs XLB: Differences, Returns & Fees

Share on X Download as PDF

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IWF returned +0.9% to XLB's +18.5%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.

askIQ about this page

askIQ about IWF and XLB

Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $124.7bn for iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF and $8.1bn for State Street Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF.

IWF on its own →XLB on its own →

At a glance

+0.9%

IWF total return, 1 year

+18.5%

XLB total return, 1 year

0.18%

IWF expense ratio

0.08%

XLB expense ratio

Pair scorecard

XLB costs 0.10 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 17.6 points; IWF is 15.4 times larger.

IWF vs XLB: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IWF	XLB
Return
Measure	IWF	XLB
Total return, 1 year	+0.9%	+18.5%
Drawdown
Measure	IWF	XLB
Below its high	4.8%, high on Oct 6, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	IWF	XLB
What it tracks	Russell 1000 Growth Index	Materials Select Sector Index
Cost and size
Measure	IWF	XLB
Expense ratio	0.18%	0.08%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$124.7bn	$8.1bn
Holdings
Measure	IWF	XLB
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	57.5%	58.5%

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

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, IWF and XLB hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first IWF XLB

SHERWIN WILLIAMS 0.06% 4.73%

STEEL DYNAMICS INC 0.01% 4.77%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in IWF

NVIDIA 15.30%

APPLE 8.18%

MICROSOFT 5.94%

ALPHABET CLASS A 5.62%

BROADCOM INC 4.79%

ALPHABET CLASS C 4.53%

TESLA INC 3.58%

META PLATFORMS CLASS A 3.36%

Only in XLB

LINDE PLC 12.96%

NEWMONT CORP 6.56%

FREEPORT MCMORAN INC 5.23%

ECOLAB INC 4.98%

VULCAN MATERIALS CO 4.89%

NUCOR CORP 4.89%

AIR PRODUCTS + CHEMICALS INC 4.84%

MARTIN MARIETTA MATERIALS 4.62%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

IWF iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF XLB State Street Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares State Street

What it is Tracks the Russell 1000 growth Tracks an index of Materials

Total return, 1 year +0.9% +18.5%

Its benchmark over the same days +1.1% (VONG) not measured

Gap to its benchmark −0.2 pts vs VONG not measured

Expense ratio 0.18% 0.08%

Already in the S&P 500 93.5% 99.8%

Holdings 374 25

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $124.7bn $8.1bn

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

Alert

About each fund

IWF

IWF tracks the Russell 1000 growth. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +0.9% with distributions reinvested, against +1.1% for its benchmark, the Russell 1000 Growth Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.18% 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 374 positions, with the top ten at 57.5%. It sat 4.8% below its high of Oct 6, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

XLB

XLB tracks an index of Materials. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +18.5% 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 25 positions, with the top ten at 58.5%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IWF or XLB?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IWF returned +0.9% and XLB +18.5%.
Which is cheaper, IWF or XLB?: XLB is cheaper, by 0.10 percentage points a year. That is about $10 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do IWF and XLB overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 94% of IWF and 100% of XLB by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

IWF vs XHB IWF vs XLV IWF vs XLF IWF vs VPU QQQM vs XLB VUG vs XLB SCHG vs XLB QQQ vs XLB

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

IWF filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IWF prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IWF ↗

XLB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

XLB 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, IWF against XLB, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iwf-vs-xlb

Open data →

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