Which returned more over the last year, XLF or XLRE?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, XLF returned +7.6% and XLRE +4.3%.

Which is cheaper, XLF or XLRE?

Neither: XLF and XLRE both charge 0.08% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

How much do XLF and XLRE overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 100% of XLF and 100% of XLRE by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

XLF vs XLRE: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, XLF returned +7.6% to XLRE's +4.3%; 0% 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 $8.0bn for State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF.

XLF on its own →XLRE on its own →

At a glance

+7.6%

XLF total return, 1 year

+4.3%

XLRE total return, 1 year

0.08%

XLF expense ratio

0.08%

XLRE expense ratio

Pair scorecard

Both cost 0.08% a year; their one-year returns differ by 3.3 points; XLF is 6.5 times larger.

XLF vs XLRE: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	XLF	XLRE
Return
Measure	XLF	XLRE
Total return, 1 year	+7.6%	+4.3%
Drawdown
Measure	XLF	XLRE
Below its high	3.8%, high on Sep 3, 2026	7.7%, high on Jul 28, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	XLF	XLRE
What it tracks	Financial Select Sector Index	Real Estate Select Sector Index
Cost and size
Measure	XLF	XLRE
Expense ratio	0.08%	0.08%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$51.6bn	$8.0bn
Holdings
Measure	XLF	XLRE
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	57.4%	58.9%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method

Risk and return

Oct 16, 2015 to Oct 23, 2026 · 575 weekly returns

XLF XLRE

Return

Total return edge XLF +258.8% +102.9%

Annualized edge XLF +12.2% +6.6%

Price return edge XLF +137.4% +38.9%

Risk

Volatility edge XLRE (slight) 21.6% 20.8%

Max drawdown edge XLRE −39.3% −35.2%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge XLF 0.54 0.30

Sortino edge XLF 0.78 0.44

Calmar edge XLF 0.31 0.19

Reading

XLF returned more: +258.8% to +102.9%. XLRE swung slightly less: 20.8% to 21.6%. XLRE fell less at its worst: −35.2% to −39.3%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: XLF vs XLRE: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	XLF	XLRE	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+258.8%	+102.9%	XLF	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+12.2%	+6.6%	XLF	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+137.4%	+38.9%	XLF	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	21.6%	20.8%	XLRE (slight)	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	14.9%	14.3%	XLRE (slight)	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−39.3%	−35.2%	XLRE	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.54	0.30	XLF	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.78	0.44	XLF	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.31	0.19	XLF	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 575 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, XLF and XLRE hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first XLF XLRE

Only in one fund ↓

Only in XLF

BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC CL B 12.84%

JPMORGAN CHASE + CO 11.33%

VISA INC CLASS A SHARES 8.69%

MASTERCARD INC A 6.26%

BANK OF AMERICA CORP 4.18%

GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC 3.37%

WELLS FARGO + CO 3.17%

MORGAN STANLEY 2.83%

Only in XLRE

WELLTOWER INC 11.14%

PROLOGIS INC 8.19%

EQUINIX INC 6.72%

AMERICAN TOWER CORP 5.84%

PUBLIC STORAGE 4.87%

SIMON PROPERTY GROUP INC 4.76%

VIVMARK RESIDENTIAL 4.42%

DIGITAL REALTY TRUST INC 4.34%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

XLF State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF XLRE State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer State Street State Street

What it is Tracks an index of Financials Tracks an index of Real estate

Total return, 1 year +7.6% +4.3%

Expense ratio 0.08% 0.08%

Already in the S&P 500 99.8% 99.5%

Holdings 77 31

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $51.6bn $8.0bn

XLF and XLRE on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-13E0D91005

XLF and XLRE do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

What each follows. XLF follows Financial Select Sector Index and XLRE follows Real Estate 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 XLF returned +7.6% and XLRE +4.3% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 3.3 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

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.

XLRE

XLRE tracks an index of Real estate. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +4.3% with distributions reinvested. 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 31 positions, with the top ten at 58.9%. It sat 7.7% below its high of Jul 28, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, XLF or XLRE?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, XLF returned +7.6% and XLRE +4.3%.
Which is cheaper, XLF or XLRE?: Neither: XLF and XLRE both charge 0.08% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do XLF and XLRE overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 100% of XLF and 100% of XLRE by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

SCHH vs XLF IYR vs XLF VNQ vs XLF XLF vs XLK KRE vs XLRE XLP vs XLRE XLB vs XLRE XLRE vs XRT

Where to next

XLF on its own →XLRE on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →XLF dividend history →XLF holdings →XLRE dividend history →XLRE holdings →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

XLF and XLRE filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

XLF and XLRE prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

State Street website ↗

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, XLF against XLRE, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/xlf-vs-xlre

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Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.