Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
XLE vs XLEI: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, XLE returned +61.2% to XLEI's +47.8%, and XLE charges 0.08% to XLEI's 0.35%.
askIQ about this page
askIQ about XLE and XLEI
Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $45.2bn for State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF and $194m for State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR Premium Income ETF.
Pair scorecard
XLE costs 0.27 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 13.4 points; XLE is far larger, $45.2bn against $194m.
| Measure | XLE | XLEI |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +61.2% | +47.8% |
| Price change, 1 year | rose 56.7% | rose 20.9% |
| Latest payout, annualized | 20.9% | |
| Return of capital, issuer estimate | 74% of the Oct 5, 2026 payment | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Energy Select Sector Index | Benchmark: Energy sector, measured through XLE |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.08% | 0.35% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $45.2bn | $194m |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
| In the S&P 500, by weight | 100% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 78.1% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Aug 8, 2025 to Oct 23, 2026 · 63 weekly returnsXLE returned more: +69.3% to +54.2%. XLEI swung less: 15.8% to 22.6%. XLEI fell less at its worst: −7.9% to −14.3%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | XLE | XLEI | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +69.3% | +54.2% | XLE | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +54.5% | +43.0% | XLE | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +63.3% | +21.1% | XLE | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 22.6% | 15.8% | XLEI | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 14.3% | 9.9% | XLEI | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −14.3% | −7.9% | XLEI | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 1.87 | 2.11 | XLEI | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 2.96 | 3.36 | XLEI | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 3.80 | 5.41 | XLEI | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 63 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, XLE and XLEI 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
XLE and XLEI on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ. Cash paid: distributions over the window, as a share of the starting price.
XLE and XLEI do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. XLE follows Energy Select Sector Index and XLEI is measured against Energy sector through XLE.
- 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 XLE returned +61.2% and XLEI +47.8% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 13.4 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
Free. It needs an email sign-in, once.
XLE
XLE tracks an index of Energy. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +61.2% 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 22 positions, with the top ten at 78.1%.
XLEI
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, XLEI paid 21.5% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 20.9%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +47.8%. Energy sector (XLE) returned +61.2% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 13.4 pts. At its price on Oct 28, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 20.9%, paid monthly. State Street estimates that 74% of the distribution paid Oct 5, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice). That is a tax label, not a measure of erosion.
Questions people ask
- Are XLE and XLEI in the same category?
- XLE is a stock ETF and XLEI is an option-income ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
- Which returned more over the last year, XLE or XLEI?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, XLE returned +61.2% and XLEI +47.8%.
- Which is cheaper, XLE or XLEI?
- XLE 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.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown
ETFIQ, XLE against XLEI, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/xle-vs-xlei
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). XLE against XLEI. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/xle-vs-xlei
[XLE against XLEI (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/xle-vs-xlei)
Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.