Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
SPHQ vs XLG: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, SPHQ returned +14.1% to XLG's +6.4%; 17% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $18.7bn for Invesco S&P 500 Quality ETF and $11.9bn for Invesco S&P 500 Top 50 ETF.
Pair scorecard
SPHQ costs 0.05 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 7.7 points; SPHQ is 1.6 times larger.
| Measure | SPHQ | XLG |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +14.1% | +6.4% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 6.4%, high on Jun 30, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | S&P 500 Quality Index | S&P 500 Top 50 Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.15% | 0.20% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $18.7bn | $11.9bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 17% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 43.3% | 60.3% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Dec 16, 2005 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,088 weekly returns · each against IVVXLG returned more: +850.1% to +599.2%. XLG swung slightly less: 17.1% to 18.0%. XLG fell slightly less at its worst: −51.7% to −56.9%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | SPHQ | XLG | IVV | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | |||||
| Total return | +599.2% | +850.1% | XLG | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. | |
| Annualized | +9.7% | +11.4% | XLG | Total return as a yearly rate. | |
| Price return | +432.7% | +556.6% | XLG | Price change alone, distributions left out. | |
| Risk | |||||
| Volatility | 18.0% | 17.1% | XLG (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. | |
| Downside deviation | 13.0% | 12.0% | XLG (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. | |
| Max drawdown | −56.9% | −51.7% | XLG (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. | |
| Upside capture | 91.6% | 98.3% | 100.0% | XLG (slight) | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. |
| Downside capture | 97.3% | 98.5% | 100.0% | Tie | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. |
| Beta | 0.94 | 0.95 | 1.00 | Tie | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.85 | 0.95 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | |||||
| Sharpe | 0.51 | 0.61 | XLG | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. | |
| Sortino | 0.70 | 0.88 | XLG | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. | |
| Treynor | 0.097 | 0.110 | 0.102 | XLG | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. |
| Calmar | 0.17 | 0.22 | XLG | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. | |
| Against the benchmark | |||||
| Benchmark | IVV | IVV | IVV | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | −0.5% a year | +0.7% a year | 0.0% | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −0.31 | 0.90 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. | |
| Alpha range | −3.5% to +2.5% | −0.9% to +2.3% | Both include zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. | |
| Information ratio | −0.15 | 0.07 | XLG | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 7.1% | 3.8% | 0.0% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,088 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, SPHQ and XLG hold 17% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
17% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
SPHQ and XLG on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
SPHQ and XLG are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. SPHQ follows S&P 500 Quality Index and XLG follows S&P 500 Top 50 Index.
- Holdings in common. 17% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 SPHQ returned +14.1% and XLG +6.4% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 7.7 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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SPHQ
SPHQ tracks the S&P 500 Quality. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +14.1% with distributions reinvested, against +13.7% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% 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 102 positions, with the top ten at 43.3%. It sat 6.4% below its high of Jun 30, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
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, SPHQ or XLG?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SPHQ returned +14.1% and XLG +6.4%.
- Which is cheaper, SPHQ or XLG?
- SPHQ is cheaper, by 0.05 percentage points a year. That is about $5 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, SPHQ against XLG, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/sphq-vs-xlg
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). SPHQ against XLG. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/sphq-vs-xlg
[SPHQ against XLG (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/sphq-vs-xlg)
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