Data as of Sep 13, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.
QUAL vs XLG: how they differ
QUAL and XLG hold 0% of their weight in the same names, and QUAL returned more over the year.
iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF and Invesco S&P 500 Top 50 ETF.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, QUAL and XLG hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Only in QUAL | Only in XLG |
|---|---|
| MICROSOFT 7.67% | NVIDIA Corp 12.79% |
| APPLE 7.10% | Apple Inc 11.58% |
| NVIDIA 6.44% | Microsoft Corp 8.83% |
| META PLATFORMS CLASS A 4.32% | Amazon.com Inc 5.95% |
| ELI LILLY 3.62% | Alphabet Inc 4.71% |
| LAM RESEARCH 3.59% | Broadcom Inc 4.12% |
| TJX 3.23% | Alphabet Inc 3.77% |
| VISA CLASS A 3.21% | Meta Platforms Inc 3.42% |
Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Sep 10, 2026.
| QUAL iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF | XLG Invesco S&P 500 Top 50 ETF | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Core index fund | Core index fund |
| Issuer | iShares | Invesco |
| What it is | MSCI USA Quality Factor | S&P 500 top 50 |
| Total return, 1 year | +16.0% | +12.2% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +17.5% | +17.5% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | −1.5 pts | −5.3 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.15% | 0.20% |
| Already in the S&P 500 | 98.9% | 100.0% |
| Holdings | 121 | 52 |
QUAL in plain words
QUAL is an index equity fund tracking the MSCI USA Quality Factor. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +16.0% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. By its holdings filed for Sep 10, 2026, 99% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 121 positions, with the top ten at 44.4%. It sat 3.1% below its high of Aug 13, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.
XLG in plain words
XLG is an index equity fund tracking the S&P 500 top 50. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +12.2% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.20% a year. By its holdings filed for Sep 10, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 52 positions, with the top ten at 60.3%.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, QUAL or XLG?
- In the year to Sep 13, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QUAL returned +16.0% and XLG returned +12.2%, so QUAL returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
- Which is cheaper, QUAL or XLG?
- QUAL charges 0.15% a year and XLG charges 0.20%, so QUAL is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
- How much do QUAL and XLG overlap with the S&P 500?
- By their latest filed holdings, 99% of QUAL and 100% of XLG by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds. Between the two funds, 0% of their books are the same securities at the same weight.
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Where these figures came from
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, QUAL against XLG, data as of Sep 13, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/qual-vs-xlg Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources