Data as of Sep 13, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.
VNQ vs XLB: how they differ
VNQ and XLB hold 0% of their weight in the same names, and XLB returned more over the year.
Vanguard Real Estate Index Fund and State Street(R) Materials Select Sector SPDR(R) ETF.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, VNQ and XLB hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Only in VNQ | Only in XLB |
|---|---|
| Vanguard Real Estate II Index Fund 14.67% | LINDE PLC 12.91% |
| Welltower Inc 7.86% | NEWMONT CORP 8.14% |
| Prologis Inc 7.02% | FREEPORT MCMORAN INC 6.19% |
| Equinix Inc 5.66% | CORTEVA INC 5.11% |
| American Tower Corp 4.55% | AIR PRODUCTS + CHEMICALS INC 4.78% |
| Digital Realty Trust Inc 3.67% | ECOLAB INC 4.75% |
| Simon Property Group Inc 3.54% | SHERWIN WILLIAMS CO/THE 4.70% |
| Realty Income Corp 3.12% | NUCOR CORP 4.59% |
Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Apr 30, 2026 and Sep 10, 2026.
| VNQ Vanguard Real Estate Index Fund | XLB State Street(R) Materials Select Sector SPDR(R) ETF | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Core index fund | Core index fund |
| Issuer | Vanguard | State Street |
| What it is | US real estate | Materials |
| Total return, 1 year | +5.6% | +12.0% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +17.5% | +17.5% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | −11.9 pts | −5.5 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.13% | 0.08% |
| Already in the S&P 500 | 63.3% | 100.0% |
| Holdings | 146 | 27 |
VNQ in plain words
VNQ is an index equity fund tracking the US real estate. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +5.6% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.13% a year. By its holdings filed for Apr 30, 2026, 63% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 146 positions, with the top ten at 54.9%. It sat 6.1% below its high of Jul 28, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.
XLB in plain words
XLB is an index equity fund tracking the Materials. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +12.0% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.08% a year. By its holdings filed for Sep 10, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 27 positions, with the top ten at 59.4%. It sat 5.1% below its high of Aug 26, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, VNQ or XLB?
- In the year to Sep 13, 2026, with distributions reinvested, VNQ returned +5.6% and XLB returned +12.0%, so XLB returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
- Which is cheaper, VNQ or XLB?
- VNQ charges 0.13% a year and XLB charges 0.08%, so XLB is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
- How much do VNQ and XLB overlap with the S&P 500?
- By their latest filed holdings, 63% of VNQ and 100% of XLB by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds. Between the two funds, 0% of their books are the same securities at the same weight.
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Where these figures came from
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, VNQ against XLB, data as of Sep 13, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vnq-vs-xlb Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
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