Are LYTE and XLF in the same category?

LYTE is a thematic ETF and XLF is a stock ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.

Which is cheaper, LYTE or XLF?

XLF is cheaper, by 0.57 percentage points a year. That is about $57 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

LYTE vs XLF: Differences, Returns & Fees

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LYTE and XLF are measured over different days, and XLF charges 0.08% to LYTE's 0.65%.

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Net assets: $165m on Oct 28, 2026 for Roundhill Photonics & Optics ETF, and $51.6bn on Oct 27, 2026 for State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF.

LYTE on its own →XLF on its own →

At a glance

−19.6%

LYTE total return, since launch, Aug 6, 2026

+7.6%

XLF total return, 1 year

0.65%

LYTE expense ratio

0.08%

XLF expense ratio

Pair scorecard

XLF costs 0.57 points a year less; XLF is far larger, $51.6bn against $163m.

LYTE vs XLF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	LYTE	XLF
Return
Measure	LYTE	XLF
Total return, 1 year	not published	+7.6%
Drawdown
Measure	LYTE	XLF
Below its all-time high	28.5%, high on Aug 17, 2026
Below its high		3.8%, high on Sep 3, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	LYTE	XLF
What it tracks	Photonics and optics	Financial Select Sector Index
Cost and size
Measure	LYTE	XLF
Expense ratio	0.65%	0.08%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$163m	$51.6bn
Holdings
Measure	LYTE	XLF
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight		100%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		57.4%

Method

Side by side

LYTE Roundhill Photonics & Optics ETF XLF State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF

Where it sits Thematic ETF Stock ETF

Issuer Roundhill State Street

What it is Photonics and optics Tracks an index of Financials

Total return, 1 year −19.6% (since launch, Aug 6, 2026) +7.6%

Expense ratio 0.65% 0.08%

Holdings not yet filed 77

Net assets, LYTE as of Oct 28, 2026 and XLF as of Oct 27, 2026 $165m $51.6bn

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

Alert

About each fund

LYTE

LYTE has no public holdings filing captured yet. Since it first traded on Aug 6, 2026 the fund returned −19.6% with distributions reinvested. It sits 28.5% below its all-time high of Aug 17, 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

Are LYTE and XLF in the same category?: LYTE is a thematic ETF and XLF is a stock ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
Which is cheaper, LYTE or XLF?: XLF is cheaper, by 0.57 percentage points a year. That is about $57 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

LYTE vs XLE LYTE vs XLI LYTE vs VGT LYTE vs VPU REMX vs XLF XBI vs XLF IBB vs XLF AIRR vs XLF

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

LYTE filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

LYTE prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Roundhill page for LYTE ↗

XLF filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

XLF prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

State Street website ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

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