Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
NOBL vs QUAL: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, NOBL returned +15.5% to QUAL's +13.1%; 14% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets on Oct 28, 2026: $11.6bn for ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF and $48.2bn for iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF.
Pair scorecard
QUAL costs 0.20 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 2.4 points; QUAL is 4.2 times larger.
| Measure | NOBL | QUAL |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +15.5% | +13.1% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Index | MSCI USA Sector Neutral Quality Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.35% | 0.15% |
| Net assets | $11.6bn | $48.2bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 14% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 17.0% | 44.5% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Oct 18, 2013 to Oct 23, 2026 · 679 weekly returnsQUAL returned more: +416.3% to +264.8%. NOBL swung slightly less: 15.4% to 16.3%. NOBL and QUAL fell about the same at their worst: −31.7% and −31.4%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | NOBL | QUAL | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +264.8% | +416.3% | QUAL | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +10.4% | +13.4% | QUAL | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +179.1% | +324.9% | QUAL | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 15.4% | 16.3% | NOBL (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 10.8% | 11.3% | NOBL (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −31.7% | −31.4% | Tie | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.59 | 0.74 | QUAL | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.84 | 1.06 | QUAL | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.33 | 0.43 | QUAL | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 679 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, NOBL and QUAL hold 14% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
14% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
NOBL and QUAL on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
NOBL and QUAL do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. NOBL follows S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Index and QUAL follows MSCI USA Sector Neutral Quality Index.
- Holdings in common. 14% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 NOBL returned +15.5% and QUAL +13.1% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 2.4 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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NOBL
NOBL tracks the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +15.5% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.35% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 98% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 69 positions, with the top ten at 17.0%.
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, NOBL or QUAL?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, NOBL returned +15.5% and QUAL +13.1%.
- Which is cheaper, NOBL or QUAL?
- QUAL is cheaper, by 0.20 percentage points a year. That is about $20 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.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown
ETFIQ, NOBL against QUAL, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/nobl-vs-qual
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). NOBL against QUAL. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/nobl-vs-qual
[NOBL against QUAL (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/nobl-vs-qual)
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