Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
VYM vs XLF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, VYM returned +18.0% to XLF's +7.6%; 18% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $78.9bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF, and $51.6bn on Oct 27, 2026 for State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF.
Pair scorecard
VYM costs 0.04 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 10.4 points; VYM is 1.5 times larger.
| Measure | VYM | XLF |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +18.0% | +7.6% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 3.8%, high on Sep 3, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | FTSE High Dividend Yield Index | Financial Select Sector Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.04% | 0.08% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $78.9bn | $51.0bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 18% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 26.2% | 57.4% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Nov 24, 2006 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,039 weekly returnsVYM returned more: +487.1% to +182.7%. VYM swung less: 16.7% to 27.5%. VYM fell less at its worst: −56.7% to −82.7%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | VYM | XLF | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +487.1% | +182.7% | VYM | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +9.3% | +5.3% | VYM | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +220.2% | +55.1% | VYM | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 16.7% | 27.5% | VYM | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 11.8% | 18.9% | VYM | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −56.7% | −82.7% | VYM | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.52 | 0.27 | VYM | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.73 | 0.39 | VYM | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.16 | 0.06 | VYM | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,039 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, VYM and XLF hold 18% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
18% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
VYM and XLF on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
VYM and XLF do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. VYM follows FTSE High Dividend Yield Index and XLF follows Financial Select Sector Index.
- Holdings in common. 18% 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 VYM returned +18.0% and XLF +7.6% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 10.4 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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VYM
VYM tracks an index of US high dividend. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +18.0% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.04% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 90% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 595 positions, with the top ten at 26.2%.
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, VYM or XLF?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, VYM returned +18.0% and XLF +7.6%.
- Which is cheaper, VYM or XLF?
- VYM is cheaper, by 0.04 percentage points a year. That is about $4 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.
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ETFIQ, VYM against XLF, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vym-vs-xlf
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). VYM against XLF. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vym-vs-xlf
[VYM against XLF (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/vym-vs-xlf)
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