Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
XBI vs XLF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, XBI returned +41.2% to XLF's +7.6%, and XLF charges 0.08% to XBI's 0.35%.
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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $10.3bn for State Street SPDR S&P Biotech ETF and $51.6bn for State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF.
Pair scorecard
XLF costs 0.27 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 33.6 points; XLF is 5.0 times larger.
| Measure | XBI | XLF |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +41.2% | +7.6% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its all-time high | 8.9%, high on Feb 8, 2021 | |
| Below its high | 3.8%, high on Sep 3, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Biotech | Financial Select Sector Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.35% | 0.08% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $10.3bn | $51.6bn |
| Active share vs the S&P 500 | 98% | |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 18% | 57.4% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Feb 17, 2006 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,079 weekly returnsXBI returned more: +817.9% to +220.2%. XLF swung slightly less: 27.1% to 29.2%. XBI fell less at its worst: −61.5% to −82.7%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | XBI | XLF | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +817.9% | +220.2% | XBI | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +11.3% | +5.8% | XBI | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +767.9% | +72.4% | XBI | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 29.2% | 27.1% | XLF (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 20.0% | 18.6% | XLF (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −61.5% | −82.7% | XBI | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.45 | 0.28 | XBI | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.66 | 0.40 | XBI | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.18 | 0.07 | XBI | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,079 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, XBI and XLF hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
0% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
XBI and XLF on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
XBI and XLF do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. XBI follows Biotech and XLF follows Financial Select Sector Index.
- Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 XBI returned +41.2% and XLF +7.6% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 33.6 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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XBI
By weight, 13% of XBI's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 98%. The top ten holdings are 18% of the fund across 165 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 the fund returned +41.2% with distributions reinvested. It sits 8.9% below its all-time high of Feb 8, 2021.
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
- Are XBI and XLF in the same category?
- XBI is a thematic ETF and XLF is a stock ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
- Which returned more over the last year, XBI or XLF?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, XBI returned +41.2% and XLF +7.6%.
- Which is cheaper, XBI or XLF?
- XLF is cheaper, by 0.27 percentage points a year. That is about $27 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, XBI against XLF, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/xbi-vs-xlf
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). XBI against XLF. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/xbi-vs-xlf
[XBI against XLF (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/xbi-vs-xlf)
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