Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
QUAL vs XLF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, QUAL returned +13.1% to XLF's +7.6%; 12% 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 $51.6bn on Oct 27, 2026 for State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF.
Pair scorecard
XLF costs 0.07 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.5 points; XLF is 1.1 times larger.
| Measure | QUAL | XLF |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +13.1% | +7.6% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 3.8%, high on Sep 3, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | MSCI USA Sector Neutral Quality Index | Financial Select Sector Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.15% | 0.08% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 26, 2026 | $48.3bn | $51.5bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 12% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 44.5% | 57.4% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Jul 26, 2013 to Oct 23, 2026 · 691 weekly returnsQUAL returned more: +444.7% to +325.5%. QUAL swung less: 16.2% to 20.4%. QUAL fell less at its worst: −31.4% to −39.3%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | QUAL | XLF | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +444.7% | +325.5% | QUAL | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +13.6% | +11.5% | QUAL | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +346.8% | +170.8% | QUAL | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 16.2% | 20.4% | QUAL | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 11.2% | 14.1% | QUAL | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −31.4% | −39.3% | QUAL | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.75 | 0.54 | QUAL | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 1.09 | 0.78 | QUAL | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.43 | 0.29 | 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
By the books each fund has filed, QUAL and XLF hold 12% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
12% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
QUAL and XLF on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
QUAL and XLF do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. QUAL follows MSCI USA Sector Neutral Quality Index and XLF follows Financial Select Sector Index.
- Holdings in common. 12% 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 XLF +7.6% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 5.5 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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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%.
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
- Which returned more over the last year, QUAL or XLF?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QUAL returned +13.1% and XLF +7.6%.
- Which is cheaper, QUAL or XLF?
- XLF is cheaper, by 0.07 percentage points a year. That is about $7 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.
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ETFIQ, QUAL against XLF, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/qual-vs-xlf
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). QUAL against XLF. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/qual-vs-xlf
[QUAL against XLF (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/qual-vs-xlf)
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