Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
VTIP vs XLV: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, VTIP returned +2.2% to XLV's +25.6%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $20.9bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities Index Fund ETF Shares, and $47.0bn on Oct 27, 2026 for State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF.
Pair scorecard
VTIP costs 0.05 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 23.4 points; XLV is 2.1 times larger.
| Measure | VTIP | XLV |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +2.2% | +25.6% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Bloomberg U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) 0-5 Years Index | Health Care Select Sector Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.03% | 0.08% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $20.9bn | $43.4bn |
| 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 Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Oct 26, 2012 to Oct 23, 2026 · 730 weekly returnsXLV returned more: +459.6% to +35.7%. VTIP swung less: 2.3% to 16.0%. VTIP fell less at its worst: −5.5% to −24.3%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | VTIP | XLV | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +35.7% | +459.6% | XLV | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +2.2% | +13.1% | XLV | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | −2.1% | +344.6% | XLV | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 2.3% | 16.0% | VTIP | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 1.7% | 11.0% | VTIP | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −5.5% | −24.3% | VTIP | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.17 | 0.73 | XLV | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.22 | 1.07 | XLV | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.40 | 0.54 | XLV | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 730 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, VTIP and XLV hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
0% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
VTIP and XLV on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
VTIP and XLV do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. VTIP follows Bloomberg U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) 0-5 Years Index and XLV follows Health Care Select Sector Index.
- Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 VTIP 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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VTIP
VTIP tracks an index of Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +2.2% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% 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, VTIP or XLV?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, VTIP returned +2.2% and XLV +25.6%.
- Which is cheaper, VTIP or XLV?
- VTIP is cheaper, by 0.05 percentage points a year. That is about $5 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.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown
ETFIQ, VTIP against XLV, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vtip-vs-xlv
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). VTIP against XLV. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vtip-vs-xlv
[VTIP against XLV (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vtip-vs-xlv)
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