Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
SPSB vs XLV: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, SPSB returned +2.2% to XLV's +25.6%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $11.3bn for State Street SPDR Portfolio Short Term Corporate Bond ETF and $47.0bn for State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF.
Pair scorecard
SPSB costs 0.04 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 23.4 points; XLV is 4.2 times larger.
| Measure | SPSB | XLV |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +2.2% | +25.6% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Bloomberg U.S. 1-3 Year Corporate Bond Index | Health Care Select Sector Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.04% | 0.08% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $11.3bn | $47.0bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
| In the S&P 500, by weight | 100% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 60.6% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Dec 24, 2009 to Oct 23, 2026 · 878 weekly returnsXLV returned more: +657.3% to +47.3%. SPSB swung less: 3.0% to 15.7%. SPSB fell less at its worst: −9.9% to −24.3%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | SPSB | XLV | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +47.3% | +657.3% | XLV | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +2.3% | +12.7% | XLV | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | −1.4% | +469.9% | XLV | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 3.0% | 15.7% | SPSB | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 2.1% | 10.7% | SPSB | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −9.9% | −24.3% | SPSB | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.27 | 0.75 | XLV | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.39 | 1.09 | XLV | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.23 | 0.52 | XLV | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 878 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, SPSB and XLV hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
0% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
SPSB and XLV on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
SPSB and XLV do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. SPSB follows Bloomberg U.S. 1-3 Year Corporate Bond Index and XLV follows Health Care Select Sector Index.
- Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 SPSB returned +2.2% and XLV +25.6% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 23.4 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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SPSB
SPSB tracks an index of Short Term Corporate Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +2.2% with distributions reinvested, against −1.4% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.04% a year.
XLV
XLV tracks an index of Health care. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +25.6% 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 62 positions, with the top ten at 60.6%.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, SPSB or XLV?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SPSB returned +2.2% and XLV +25.6%.
- Which is cheaper, SPSB or XLV?
- SPSB is cheaper, by 0.04 percentage points a year. That is about $4 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, SPSB against XLV, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spsb-vs-xlv
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). SPSB against XLV. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spsb-vs-xlv
[SPSB against XLV (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spsb-vs-xlv)
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