Which returned more over the last year, QTEC or XLK?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QTEC returned +29.4% and XLK +27.1%.

Which is cheaper, QTEC or XLK?

XLK is cheaper, by 0.47 percentage points a year. That is about $47 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

How much do QTEC and XLK overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 81% of QTEC and 100% of XLK by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

QTEC vs XLK: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, QTEC returned +29.4% to XLK's +27.1%; 40% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $4.6bn for First Trust NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector Index Fund and $125.0bn for State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF.

QTEC on its own →XLK on its own →

At a glance

+29.4%

QTEC total return, 1 year

+27.1%

XLK total return, 1 year

0.55%

QTEC expense ratio

0.08%

XLK expense ratio

Pair scorecard

XLK costs 0.47 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 2.3 points; XLK is far larger, $125.0bn against $4.6bn.

QTEC vs XLK: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	QTEC	XLK
Return
Measure	QTEC	XLK
Total return, 1 year	+29.4%	+27.1%
Drawdown
Measure	QTEC	XLK
Below its high	7.6%, high on Oct 6, 2026	5.4%, high on Oct 6, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	QTEC	XLK
What it tracks	Nasdaq-100 Technology Sector Index	Technology Select Sector Index
Cost and size
Measure	QTEC	XLK
Expense ratio	0.55%	0.08%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$4.6bn	$125.0bn
Holdings
Measure	QTEC	XLK
Holdings in common	40%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	25.2%	64.6%

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

Risk and return

May 12, 2006 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,067 weekly returns

QTEC XLK

Return

Total return edge XLK +1,660.9% +2,178.3%

Annualized edge XLK (slight) +15.0% +16.5%

Price return edge XLK (slight) +1,499.9% +1,646.7%

Risk

Volatility edge XLK 24.3% 20.9%

Max drawdown edge XLK −57.8% −50.7%

Downside capture 115.4% 113.0%

Beta 1.19 1.15

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge XLK 0.63 0.75

Sortino edge XLK 0.92 1.12

Treynor 0.128 0.094

Calmar edge XLK 0.26 0.32

Against the benchmark

Alpha +2.9% a year +1.6% a year

Alpha t-stat 1.07 0.67

Information ratio 0.39 0.22

Tracking error 12.6% 12.6%

Each against its own benchmark: QTEC against IVV, May 12, 2006 to Oct 23, 2026; XLK against SPY, Dec 31, 1998 to Oct 23, 2026.

Reading

XLK returned more: +2,178.3% to +1,660.9%. XLK swung less: 20.9% to 24.3%. XLK fell less at its worst: −50.7% to −57.8%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: QTEC vs XLK: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	QTEC	XLK	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+1,660.9%	+2,178.3%	XLK	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+15.0%	+16.5%	XLK (slight)	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+1,499.9%	+1,646.7%	XLK (slight)	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	24.3%	20.9%	XLK	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	16.6%	14.1%	XLK	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−57.8%	−50.7%	XLK	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture	151.5%	138.8%		Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture	115.4%	113.0%		Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta	1.19	1.15	Not an edge	How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared	0.75	0.73	Not an edge	Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.63	0.75	XLK	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.92	1.12	XLK	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor	0.128	0.094		Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar	0.26	0.32	XLK	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
Benchmark	IVV	SPY		The ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha	+2.9% a year	+1.6% a year	Not significant	Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat	1.07	0.67	Not an edge	How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range	−2.4% to +8.2%	−3.0% to +6.1%	Includes zero	The 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio	0.39	0.22		Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error	12.6%	12.6%	Not an edge	How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,067 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

40%

By the books each fund has filed, QTEC and XLK hold 40% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

40% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first QTEC XLK

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. 2.61% 4.78%

Apple Inc. 2.40% 14.62%

Palantir Technologies Inc. (Class A) 2.34% 2.67%

Intel Corporation 2.30% 2.72%

Microsoft Corporation 2.30% 11.38%

NVIDIA Corporation 2.16% 15.22%

Micron Technology, Inc. 2.12% 4.02%

Broadcom Inc. 2.03% 4.70%

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. 2.30% 1.91%

Applied Materials, Inc. 1.89% 1.84%

Lam Research Corporation 1.75% 1.76%

Texas Instruments Incorporated 2.60% 1.65%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in QTEC

Shopify Inc. (Class A) 2.47%

Meta Platforms, Inc. (Class A) 2.38%

Thomson Reuters Corporation 2.38%

Strategy Incorporated (Class A) 2.33%

Astera Labs, Inc. 2.12%

ASML Holding N.V. (New York Registry Shares) 2.11%

Arm Holdings Plc 2.05%

PDD Holdings Inc. (ADR) 2.05%

Only in XLK

CISCO SYSTEMS INC 2.56%

INTL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP 1.38%

ORACLE CORP 1.32%

SALESFORCE INC 1.15%

ARISTA NETWORKS INC 1.14%

AMPHENOL CORP CL A 1.13%

SERVICENOW INC 0.94%

DELL TECHNOLOGIES C 0.89%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

QTEC First Trust NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector Index Fund XLK State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer First Trust State Street

What it is Tracks an index Tracks an index of Technology

Total return, 1 year +29.4% +27.1%

Its benchmark over the same days +13.7% (IVV) +13.6% (SPY)

Gap to its benchmark +15.7 pts vs IVV +13.5 pts vs SPY

Expense ratio 0.55% 0.08%

Already in the S&P 500 80.9% 99.9%

Holdings 47 76

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $4.6bn $125.0bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-04DE1A417B

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

What each follows. QTEC follows Nasdaq-100 Technology Sector Index and XLK follows Technology Select Sector Index.
Holdings in common. 40% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 QTEC returned +29.4% and XLK +27.1% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 2.3 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

QTEC

QTEC tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +29.4% with distributions reinvested, against +13.7% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.55% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 81% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 47 positions, with the top ten at 25.2%. It sat 7.6% below its high of Oct 6, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

XLK

XLK tracks an index of Technology. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +27.1% with distributions reinvested, against +13.6% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. 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 76 positions, with the top ten at 64.6%. It sat 5.4% below its high of Oct 6, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, QTEC or XLK?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QTEC returned +29.4% and XLK +27.1%.
Which is cheaper, QTEC or XLK?: XLK is cheaper, by 0.47 percentage points a year. That is about $47 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do QTEC and XLK overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 81% of QTEC and 100% of XLK by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

QTEC vs VGT QTEC vs TRFK IYW vs QTEC FTEC vs QTEC TDIV vs XLK RSPT vs XLK FXL vs XLK XLK vs XNTK

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

QTEC filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

QTEC prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

First Trust page for QTEC ↗

XLK filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

XLK 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, QTEC against XLK, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/qtec-vs-xlk

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