Which returned more over the last year, KBE or XLF?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, KBE returned +16.9% and XLF +7.6%.

Which is cheaper, KBE or XLF?

XLF is cheaper, by 0.27 percentage points a year. That is about $27 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

How much do KBE and XLF overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 16% of KBE and 100% of XLF by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

KBE vs XLF: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, KBE returned +16.9% to XLF's +7.6%; 10% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $1.5bn for State Street SPDR S&P Bank ETF and $51.6bn for State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF.

KBE on its own →XLF on its own →

At a glance

+16.9%

KBE total return, 1 year

+7.6%

XLF total return, 1 year

0.35%

KBE expense ratio

0.08%

XLF expense ratio

Pair scorecard

XLF costs 0.27 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 9.3 points; XLF is far larger, $51.6bn against $1.5bn.

KBE vs XLF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	KBE	XLF
Return
Measure	KBE	XLF
Total return, 1 year	+16.9%	+7.6%
Drawdown
Measure	KBE	XLF
Below its high	7.9%, high on Aug 14, 2026	3.8%, high on Sep 3, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	KBE	XLF
What it tracks	S&P Banks Select Industry Index	Financial Select Sector Index
Cost and size
Measure	KBE	XLF
Expense ratio	0.35%	0.08%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$1.5bn	$51.6bn
Holdings
Measure	KBE	XLF
Holdings in common	10%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	10.2%	57.4%

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

Risk and return

Nov 25, 2005 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,091 weekly returns

KBE XLF

Return

Total return edge XLF +105.5% +222.1%

Annualized edge XLF +3.5% +5.7%

Price return edge XLF +24.6% +72.3%

Risk

Volatility edge XLF 32.8% 27.0%

Max drawdown edge Tie −83.1% −82.7%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge XLF 0.21 0.28

Sortino edge XLF 0.32 0.40

Calmar edge XLF 0.04 0.07

Reading

XLF returned more: +222.1% to +105.5%. XLF swung less: 27.0% to 32.8%. KBE and XLF fell about the same at their worst: −83.1% and −82.7%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: KBE vs XLF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	KBE	XLF	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+105.5%	+222.1%	XLF	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+3.5%	+5.7%	XLF	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+24.6%	+72.3%	XLF	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	32.8%	27.0%	XLF	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	22.1%	18.6%	XLF	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−83.1%	−82.7%	Tie	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.21	0.28	XLF	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.32	0.40	XLF	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.04	0.07	XLF	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,091 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

10%

By the books each fund has filed, KBE and XLF 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 KBE XLF

US BANCORP 0.92% 1.18%

JPMORGAN CHASE + CO 0.90% 11.33%

PNC FINANCIAL SERVICES GROUP 0.90% 1.15%

WELLS FARGO + CO 0.88% 3.17%

BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON CORP 0.87% 1.27%

CITIGROUP INC 0.85% 2.61%

BANK OF AMERICA CORP 0.77% 4.18%

TRUIST FINANCIAL CORP 0.92% 0.75%

APOLLO GLOBAL MANAGEMENT INC 0.83% 0.69%

FIFTH THIRD BANCORP 0.94% 0.62%

M + T BANK CORP 0.89% 0.41%

HUNTINGTON BANCSHARES INC 0.90% 0.40%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in KBE

CUSTOMERS BANCORP INC 1.06%

FIRST CITIZENS BCSHS CL A 1.06%

CENTRAL BANCOMPANY 1.03%

GLACIER BANCORP INC 1.02%

CATHAY GENERAL BANCORP 1.01%

UNITED COMMUNITY BANKS 1.00%

EQUITABLE HOLDINGS INC 1.00%

COREBRIDGE FINANCIAL INC 1.00%

Only in XLF

BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC CL B 12.84%

VISA INC CLASS A SHARES 8.69%

MASTERCARD INC A 6.26%

GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC 3.37%

MORGAN STANLEY 2.83%

AMERICAN EXPRESS CO 2.09%

BLACKROCK INC 2.08%

SCHWAB (CHARLES) CORP 1.84%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

KBE State Street SPDR S&P Bank ETF XLF State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer State Street State Street

What it is Tracks an index Tracks an index of Financials

Total return, 1 year +16.9% +7.6%

Expense ratio 0.35% 0.08%

Already in the S&P 500 15.5% 99.8%

Holdings 107 77

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $1.5bn $51.6bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-B00D0F410F

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

What each follows. KBE follows S&P Banks Select Industry Index and XLF follows Financial 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 KBE returned +16.9% and XLF +7.6% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 9.3 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

KBE

KBE tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +16.9% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.35% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 16% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 107 positions, with the top ten at 10.2%. It sat 7.9% below its high of Aug 14, 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, KBE or XLF?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, KBE returned +16.9% and XLF +7.6%.
Which is cheaper, KBE or XLF?: XLF is cheaper, by 0.27 percentage points a year. That is about $27 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do KBE and XLF overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 16% of KBE and 100% of XLF by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

KBE vs VFH KBE vs KBWB IYF vs KBE FNCL vs KBE FNCL vs XLF IAI vs XLF IYG vs XLF IYF vs XLF

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

KBE filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

KBE prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

State Street website ↗

XLF filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

XLF prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

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, KBE against XLF, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/kbe-vs-xlf

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