Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
SDY vs XLG: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, SDY returned +16.5% to XLG's +6.4%; 11% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $21.9bn for State Street SPDR S&P Dividend ETF and $11.9bn for Invesco S&P 500 Top 50 ETF.
Pair scorecard
XLG costs 0.15 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 10.1 points; SDY is 1.8 times larger.
| Measure | SDY | XLG |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +16.5% | +6.4% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index | S&P 500 Top 50 Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.35% | 0.20% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $21.9bn | $11.9bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 11% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 20.4% | 60.3% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Nov 25, 2005 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,091 weekly returnsXLG returned more: +843.7% to +506.8%. XLG swung slightly less: 17.1% to 17.5%. XLG fell slightly less at its worst: −51.7% to −54.4%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | SDY | XLG | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +506.8% | +843.7% | XLG | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +9.0% | +11.3% | XLG | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +188.8% | +548.9% | XLG | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 17.5% | 17.1% | XLG (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 12.3% | 11.9% | XLG (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −54.4% | −51.7% | XLG (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.48 | 0.61 | XLG | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.68 | 0.87 | XLG | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.16 | 0.22 | XLG | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,091 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, SDY and XLG hold 11% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
11% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
SDY and XLG on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
SDY and XLG do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. SDY follows S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index and XLG follows S&P 500 Top 50 Index.
- Holdings in common. 11% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 SDY returned +16.5% and XLG +6.4% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 10.1 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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SDY
SDY tracks the S&P Dividend. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +16.5% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.35% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 84% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 156 positions, with the top ten at 20.4%.
XLG
XLG tracks the S&P 500 top 50. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +6.4% with distributions reinvested, against +13.7% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.20% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 98% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 53 positions, with the top ten at 60.3%.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, SDY or XLG?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SDY returned +16.5% and XLG +6.4%.
- Which is cheaper, SDY or XLG?
- XLG is cheaper, by 0.15 percentage points a year. That is about $15 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, SDY against XLG, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/sdy-vs-xlg
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). SDY against XLG. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/sdy-vs-xlg
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