Which returned more over the last year, VLUE or XLU?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, VLUE returned +54.7% and XLU −3.0%.

Which is cheaper, VLUE or XLU?

XLU 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 VLUE and XLU overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 97% of VLUE and 100% of XLU by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

VLUE vs XLU: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, VLUE returned +54.7% to XLU's −3.0%; 2% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets: $9.4bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF, and $23.9bn on Oct 27, 2026 for State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF.

VLUE on its own →XLU on its own →

At a glance

+54.7%

VLUE total return, 1 year

−3.0%

XLU total return, 1 year

0.15%

VLUE expense ratio

0.08%

XLU expense ratio

Pair scorecard

XLU costs 0.07 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 57.7 points; XLU is 2.6 times larger.

VLUE vs XLU: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	VLUE	XLU
Return
Measure	VLUE	XLU
Total return, 1 year	+54.7%	−3.0%
Drawdown
Measure	VLUE	XLU
Below its high		9.1%, high on Feb 27, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	VLUE	XLU
What it tracks	MSCI USA Enhanced Value Index	Utilities Select Sector Index
Cost and size
Measure	VLUE	XLU
Expense ratio	0.15%	0.08%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$9.3bn	$23.9bn
Holdings
Measure	VLUE	XLU
Holdings in common	2%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	42.8%	58.7%

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

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, VLUE and XLU hold 2% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

2% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first VLUE XLU

PG&E CORP 0.40% 2.12%

EXELON CORP 0.30% 3.42%

DOMINION ENERGY 0.27% 4.26%

CONSOLIDATED EDISON 0.25% 3.16%

EDISON INTERNATIONAL 0.25% 1.66%

EVERSOURCE ENERGY 0.20% 1.89%

EVERGY 0.12% 1.46%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in VLUE

MICRON TECHNOLOGY 20.94%

CISCO SYSTEMS INC 4.37%

GENERAL MOTORS 3.54%

VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC 2.72%

AT&T 2.24%

HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE 1.95%

PFIZER 1.86%

BANK OF AMERICA 1.77%

Only in XLU

NEXTERA ENERGY INC 12.76%

SOUTHERN CO 7.91%

DUKE ENERGY CORP 7.22%

CONSTELLATION ENERGY 6.33%

AMERICAN ELECTRIC POWER 5.26%

SEMPRA 4.12%

ENTERGY CORP 3.75%

XCEL ENERGY INC 3.62%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

VLUE iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF XLU State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares State Street

What it is Tracks the MSCI USA Value Factor Tracks an index of Utilities

Total return, 1 year +54.7% −3.0%

Its benchmark over the same days +13.6% (MLRG) not measured

Gap to its benchmark +41.1 pts vs MLRG not measured

Expense ratio 0.15% 0.08%

Already in the S&P 500 96.6% 99.7%

Holdings 148 32

Net assets, VLUE as of Oct 28, 2026 and XLU as of Oct 27, 2026 $9.4bn $23.9bn

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

Alert

About each fund

VLUE

VLUE tracks the MSCI USA Value Factor. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +54.7% with distributions reinvested, against +13.6% for its benchmark, the MSCI USA Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 97% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 148 positions, with the top ten at 42.8%.

XLU

XLU tracks an index of Utilities. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −3.0% 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 32 positions, with the top ten at 58.7%. It sat 9.1% below its high of Feb 27, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, VLUE or XLU?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, VLUE returned +54.7% and XLU −3.0%.
Which is cheaper, VLUE or XLU?: XLU 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 VLUE and XLU overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 97% of VLUE and 100% of XLU by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

VLUE vs VPU VLUE vs XLI VLUE vs XLP VLUE vs XLE DGRO vs XLU FDVV vs XLU HDV vs XLU AVLV vs XLU

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

VLUE filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

VLUE prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for VLUE ↗

XLU filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

XLU 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.

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ETFIQ, VLUE against XLU, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vlue-vs-xlu

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