Which returned more over the last year, QUAL or USMV?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QUAL returned +13.1% and USMV +10.8%.

Which is cheaper, QUAL or USMV?

Neither: QUAL and USMV both charge 0.15% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

How much do QUAL and USMV overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 97% of QUAL and 93% of USMV by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

QUAL vs USMV: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, QUAL returned +13.1% to USMV's +10.8%; 30% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets: $48.2bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF, and $24.1bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF.

QUAL on its own →USMV on its own →

At a glance

+13.1%

QUAL total return, 1 year

+10.8%

USMV total return, 1 year

0.15%

QUAL expense ratio

0.15%

USMV expense ratio

Pair scorecard

Both cost 0.15% a year; their one-year returns differ by 2.3 points; QUAL is 2.0 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

QUAL vs USMV: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	QUAL	USMV
Return
Measure	QUAL	USMV
Total return, 1 year	+13.1%	+10.8%
Benchmark
Measure	QUAL	USMV
What it tracks	MSCI USA Sector Neutral Quality Index	MSCI USA Minimum Volatility (USD) Index
Cost and size
Measure	QUAL	USMV
Expense ratio	0.15%	0.15%
Net assets, as of Oct 23, 2026	$48.2bn	$24.1bn
Holdings
Measure	QUAL	USMV
Holdings in common	30%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	44.5%	14.8%

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

Risk and return

Jul 26, 2013 to Oct 23, 2026 · 691 weekly returns

QUAL USMV

Return

Total return edge QUAL +444.7% +289.6%

Annualized edge QUAL +13.6% +10.8%

Price return edge QUAL +346.8% +203.9%

Risk

Volatility edge USMV 16.2% 13.7%

Max drawdown edge USMV (slight) −31.4% −30.6%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge QUAL 0.75 0.68

Sortino edge QUAL 1.09 0.96

Calmar edge QUAL 0.43 0.35

Reading

QUAL returned more: +444.7% to +289.6%. USMV swung less: 13.7% to 16.2%. USMV fell slightly less at its worst: −30.6% to −31.4%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: QUAL vs USMV: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	QUAL	USMV	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+444.7%	+289.6%	QUAL	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+13.6%	+10.8%	QUAL	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+346.8%	+203.9%	QUAL	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	16.2%	13.7%	USMV	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	11.2%	9.7%	USMV	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−31.4%	−30.6%	USMV (slight)	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.75	0.68	QUAL	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	1.09	0.96	QUAL	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.43	0.35	QUAL	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 691 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

30%

By the books each fund has filed, QUAL and USMV hold 30% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

30% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first QUAL USMV

MICROSOFT 8.09% 1.61%

EXXONMOBIL HOLDINGS CORP 2.50% 1.54%

BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC CLASS B 1.94% 1.50%

NVIDIA 6.28% 1.47%

JOHNSON & JOHNSON 2.14% 1.44%

MERCK & CO INC 1.34% 1.37%

MASTERCARD CLASS A 2.40% 1.28%

VISA CLASS A 3.44% 1.05%

APPLE 7.38% 0.96%

TJX 3.50% 0.95%

ACCENTURE PLC CLASS A 0.96% 0.91%

PROCTER & GAMBLE 0.89% 1.10%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in QUAL

KLA 2.05%

ALPHABET CLASS A 1.82%

ROSS STORES INC 1.41%

3M 0.89%

GARMIN 0.89%

TRANE TECHNOLOGIES PLC 0.79%

WILLIAMS SONOMA INC 0.75%

ILLINOIS TOOL INC 0.74%

Only in USMV

AMPHENOL CORP CLASS A 1.47%

MCKESSON CORP 1.43%

WELLTOWER 1.41%

DUKE ENERGY CORP 1.38%

WASTE MANAGEMENT INC 1.38%

CISCO SYSTEMS INC 1.35%

SOUTHERN 1.35%

REPUBLIC SERVICES INC 1.31%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

QUAL iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF USMV iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Tracks the MSCI USA Quality Factor Tracks the MSCI USA Min Vol Factor

Total return, 1 year +13.1% +10.8%

Its benchmark over the same days +13.6% (MLRG) not measured

Gap to its benchmark −0.5 pts vs MLRG not measured

Expense ratio 0.15% 0.15%

Already in the S&P 500 97.2% 93.0%

Holdings 119 176

Net assets, QUAL as of Oct 28, 2026 and USMV as of Oct 27, 2026 $48.2bn $24.1bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-B4829604DF

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

What each follows. QUAL follows MSCI USA Sector Neutral Quality Index and USMV follows MSCI USA Minimum Volatility (USD) Index.
Holdings in common. 30% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 QUAL returned +13.1% and USMV +10.8% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 2.3 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

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%.

USMV

USMV tracks the MSCI USA Min Vol Factor. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +10.8% with distributions reinvested. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 93% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 176 positions, with the top ten at 14.8%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, QUAL or USMV?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QUAL returned +13.1% and USMV +10.8%.
Which is cheaper, QUAL or USMV?: Neither: QUAL and USMV both charge 0.15% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do QUAL and USMV overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 97% of QUAL and 93% of USMV by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

QUAL vs RDVY CGGR vs QUAL QUAL vs SPMO DFUS vs QUAL DIA vs USMV SCHB vs USMV USMV vs VV DYNF vs USMV

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

QUAL and USMV filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

QUAL and USMV prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for QUAL ↗

iShares page for USMV ↗

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, QUAL against USMV, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/qual-vs-usmv

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