Which returned more over the last year, USMV or XLB?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, USMV returned +10.8% and XLB +18.5%.

Which is cheaper, USMV or XLB?

XLB is cheaper, by 0.07 percentage points a year. That is about $7 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

How much do USMV and XLB overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 93% of USMV and 100% of XLB by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

USMV vs XLB: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, USMV returned +10.8% to XLB's +18.5%; 1% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $24.1bn for iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF and $8.1bn for State Street Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF.

USMV on its own →XLB on its own →

At a glance

+10.8%

USMV total return, 1 year

+18.5%

XLB total return, 1 year

0.15%

USMV expense ratio

0.08%

XLB expense ratio

Pair scorecard

XLB costs 0.07 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 7.7 points; USMV is 3.0 times larger.

USMV vs XLB: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	USMV	XLB
Return
Measure	USMV	XLB
Total return, 1 year	+10.8%	+18.5%
Benchmark
Measure	USMV	XLB
What it tracks	MSCI USA Minimum Volatility (USD) Index	Materials Select Sector Index
Cost and size
Measure	USMV	XLB
Expense ratio	0.15%	0.08%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$24.1bn	$8.1bn
Holdings
Measure	USMV	XLB
Holdings in common	1%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	14.8%	58.5%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, USMV and XLB hold 1% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

1% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first USMV XLB

LINDE PLC 0.65% 12.96%

NEWMONT 0.38% 6.56%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in USMV

MICROSOFT 1.61%

EXXONMOBIL HOLDINGS CORP 1.54%

BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC CLASS B 1.50%

CHUBB 1.50%

MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS INC 1.48%

AMPHENOL CORP CLASS A 1.47%

NVIDIA 1.47%

JOHNSON & JOHNSON 1.44%

Only in XLB

FREEPORT MCMORAN INC 5.23%

ECOLAB INC 4.98%

VULCAN MATERIALS CO 4.89%

NUCOR CORP 4.89%

AIR PRODUCTS + CHEMICALS INC 4.84%

STEEL DYNAMICS INC 4.77%

SHERWIN WILLIAMS CO 4.73%

MARTIN MARIETTA MATERIALS 4.62%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

USMV iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF XLB State Street Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares State Street

What it is Tracks the MSCI USA Min Vol Factor Tracks an index of Materials

Total return, 1 year +10.8% +18.5%

Expense ratio 0.15% 0.08%

Already in the S&P 500 93.0% 99.8%

Holdings 176 25

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $24.1bn $8.1bn

USMV and XLB on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Alert

About each fund

USMV

USMV tracks the MSCI USA Min Vol Factor. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +10.8% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 93% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 176 positions, with the top ten at 14.8%.

XLB

XLB tracks an index of Materials. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +18.5% 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 25 positions, with the top ten at 58.5%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, USMV or XLB?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, USMV returned +10.8% and XLB +18.5%.
Which is cheaper, USMV or XLB?: XLB is cheaper, by 0.07 percentage points a year. That is about $7 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do USMV and XLB overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 93% of USMV and 100% of XLB by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

USMV vs VNQ USMV vs XHB USMV vs XLV USMV vs XLF CGGR vs XLB DFUS vs XLB DGRW vs XLB AVUS vs XLB

Where to next

USMV on its own →XLB on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →USMV dividend history →USMV holdings →XLB dividend history →XLB holdings →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

USMV filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

USMV prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for USMV ↗

XLB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

XLB prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

State Street website ↗

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.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, USMV against XLB, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/usmv-vs-xlb

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Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.