QUAL vs TCAF: Differences, Returns & Fees
QUAL and TCAF hold 30% of their weight in the same names, and QUAL returned +17.1% over the year. Net assets on Oct 9, 2026: $49.0bn for iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF and $9.1bn for T. Rowe Price Capital Appreciation Equity ETF.
QUAL costs 0.16 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.2 points; QUAL is 5.4 times larger.
| QUAL | TCAF | |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.15% | 0.31% |
| Net assets | $49.0bn | $9.1bn |
| Total return, 1 year | +17.1% | +13.9% |
| What it tracks | MSCI USA Sector Neutral Quality Index ? | No index, actively managed |
| Holdings in common | 30% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 45.7% | 40.9% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Oct 9, 2026.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, QUAL and TCAF hold 30% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Oct 9, 2026.
half
30% in common
On the same fields
QUAL and TCAF on the fields both publish, as of Oct 9, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
About QUAL
QUAL tracks the MSCI USA Quality Factor. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned +17.1% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 9, 2026, 97% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 119 positions, with the top ten at 45.7%.
About TCAF
TCAF is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned +13.9% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.31% a year. By its holdings filed for Jun 30, 2026, 84% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 90 positions, with the top ten at 40.9%.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, QUAL or TCAF?
- In the year to Oct 9, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QUAL returned +17.1% and TCAF +13.9%.
- Which is cheaper, QUAL or TCAF?
- QUAL is cheaper, by 0.16 percentage points a year. That is about $16 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure; a link is not an endorsement. 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, QUAL against TCAF, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/qual-vs-tcaf
ETFIQ. (Oct 9, 2026). QUAL against TCAF. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/qual-vs-tcaf
[QUAL against TCAF (ETFIQ, Oct 9, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/qual-vs-tcaf)
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