Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
SPY vs XLF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, SPY returned +13.6% to XLF's +7.6%; 12% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $814.8bn for SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust and $51.6bn for State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF.
Pair scorecard
XLF costs 0.01 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 6.0 points; SPY is 15.8 times larger.
| Measure | SPY | XLF |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +13.6% | +7.6% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 3.8%, high on Sep 3, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | S&P 500 Index | Financial Select Sector Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.09% | 0.08% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $814.8bn | $51.6bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 12% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 38.1% | 57.4% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Dec 31, 1998 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,451 weekly returnsSPY returned more: +897.4% to +402.6%. SPY swung less: 17.7% to 26.2%. SPY fell less at its worst: −54.6% to −82.7%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | SPY | XLF | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +897.4% | +402.6% | SPY | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +8.6% | +6.0% | SPY | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +516.3% | +138.5% | SPY | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 17.7% | 26.2% | SPY | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 12.6% | 17.8% | SPY | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −54.6% | −82.7% | SPY | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.46 | 0.28 | SPY | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.64 | 0.42 | SPY | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.16 | 0.07 | SPY | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,451 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, SPY 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
SPY and XLF on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
SPY and XLF do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. SPY follows S&P 500 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 SPY returned +13.6% and XLF +7.6% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 6.0 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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SPY
SPY tracks the S&P 500. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.6% with distributions reinvested, against +13.7% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% 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 504 positions, with the top ten at 38.1%.
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, SPY or XLF?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SPY returned +13.6% and XLF +7.6%.
- Which is cheaper, SPY or XLF?
- XLF is cheaper, by 0.01 percentage points a year. That is about $1 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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How this is computed
Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.
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ETFIQ, SPY against XLF, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spy-vs-xlf
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). SPY against XLF. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spy-vs-xlf
[SPY against XLF (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spy-vs-xlf)
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