Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
XLF vs XLG: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, XLF returned +7.6% to XLG's +6.4%; 10% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $51.6bn for State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF and $11.9bn for Invesco S&P 500 Top 50 ETF.
Pair scorecard
XLF costs 0.12 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.2 points; XLF is 4.3 times larger.
| Measure | XLF | XLG |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +7.6% | +6.4% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 3.8%, high on Sep 3, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Financial Select Sector Index | S&P 500 Top 50 Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.08% | 0.20% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $51.6bn | $11.9bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 10% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 57.4% | 60.3% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
May 20, 2005 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,118 weekly returnsXLG returned more: +882.5% to +261.5%. XLG swung less: 17.0% to 26.7%. XLG fell less at its worst: −51.7% to −82.7%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | XLF | XLG | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +261.5% | +882.5% | XLG | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +6.2% | +11.2% | XLG | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +91.1% | +572.4% | XLG | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 26.7% | 17.0% | XLG | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 18.4% | 11.8% | XLG | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −82.7% | −51.7% | XLG | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.29 | 0.61 | XLG | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.42 | 0.87 | XLG | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.07 | 0.22 | XLG | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,118 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, XLF and XLG hold 10% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
10% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
XLF and XLG on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
XLF and XLG do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. XLF follows Financial Select Sector Index and XLG follows S&P 500 Top 50 Index.
- Holdings in common. 10% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
- Cost. XLF charges 0.08% of assets a year and XLG 0.20%, a gap of 0.12 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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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.
XLG
XLG tracks the S&P 500 top 50. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +6.4% with distributions reinvested, against +13.7% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.20% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 98% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 53 positions, with the top ten at 60.3%.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, XLF or XLG?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, XLF returned +7.6% and XLG +6.4%.
- Which is cheaper, XLF or XLG?
- XLF is cheaper, by 0.12 percentage points a year. That is about $12 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, XLF against XLG, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/xlf-vs-xlg
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[XLF against XLG (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/xlf-vs-xlg)
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