Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
IYF vs XLF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IYF returned +7.8% to XLF's +7.6%; 77% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $3.7bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares U.S. Financials ETF, and $51.6bn on Oct 27, 2026 for State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF.
Pair scorecard
XLF costs 0.29 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.2 points; XLF is 13.9 times larger.
| Measure | IYF | XLF |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +7.8% | +7.6% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 5.6%, high on Sep 3, 2026 | 3.8%, high on Sep 3, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Russell 1000 Financials 40 Act 15/22 | Financial Select Sector Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.37% | 0.08% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 26, 2026 | $3.7bn | $51.5bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 77% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 48.3% | 57.4% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Jun 2, 2000 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,377 weekly returnsIYF returned more: +437.6% to +330.4%. IYF swung slightly less: 23.9% to 25.8%. IYF fell slightly less at its worst: −79.1% to −82.7%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | IYF | XLF | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +437.6% | +330.4% | IYF | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +6.6% | +5.7% | IYF | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +232.6% | +107.5% | IYF | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 23.9% | 25.8% | IYF (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 16.5% | 17.7% | IYF (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −79.1% | −82.7% | IYF (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.31 | 0.27 | IYF | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.45 | 0.40 | IYF | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.08 | 0.07 | IYF | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,377 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, IYF and XLF hold 77% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
77% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
IYF and XLF on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
IYF and XLF are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. IYF follows Russell 1000 Financials 40 Act 15/22 and XLF follows Financial Select Sector Index.
- Cost. IYF charges 0.37% of assets a year and XLF 0.08%, a gap of 0.29 points.
- Size. IYF has $3.7bn in net assets and XLF $51.5bn (net assets, as of Oct 26, 2026); XLF is 13.9 times larger.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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IYF
IYF tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +7.8% with distributions reinvested, against +13.1% for its benchmark, the Russell 1000 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.37% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 89% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 144 positions, with the top ten at 48.3%. It sat 5.6% below its high of Sep 3, 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, IYF or XLF?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IYF returned +7.8% and XLF +7.6%.
- Which is cheaper, IYF or XLF?
- XLF is cheaper, by 0.29 percentage points a year. That is about $29 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.
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ETFIQ, IYF against XLF, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iyf-vs-xlf
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). IYF against XLF. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iyf-vs-xlf
[IYF against XLF (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iyf-vs-xlf)
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