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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, XLF returned +7.6% and XLU −3.0%.

Which is cheaper, XLF or XLU?

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

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

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

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

XLF vs XLU: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, XLF returned +7.6% to XLU's −3.0%; 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 $23.9bn for State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF.

XLF on its own →XLU on its own →

At a glance

+7.6%

XLF total return, 1 year

−3.0%

XLU total return, 1 year

0.08%

XLF expense ratio

0.08%

XLU expense ratio

Pair scorecard

Both cost 0.08% a year; their one-year returns differ by 10.6 points; XLF is 2.2 times larger.

XLF vs XLU: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	XLF	XLU
Return
Measure	XLF	XLU
Total return, 1 year	+7.6%	−3.0%
Drawdown
Measure	XLF	XLU
Below its high	3.8%, high on Sep 3, 2026	9.1%, high on Feb 27, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	XLF	XLU
What it tracks	Financial Select Sector Index	Utilities Select Sector Index
Cost and size
Measure	XLF	XLU
Expense ratio	0.08%	0.08%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$51.6bn	$23.9bn
Holdings
Measure	XLF	XLU
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	57.4%	58.7%

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

Risk and return

Dec 31, 1998 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,451 weekly returns

XLF XLU

Return

Total return edge XLU +402.6% +640.5%

Annualized edge XLU +6.0% +7.4%

Price return edge XLU +138.5% +181.6%

Risk

Volatility edge XLU 26.2% 18.1%

Max drawdown edge XLU −82.7% −48.3%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge XLU 0.28 0.39

Sortino edge XLU 0.42 0.55

Calmar edge XLU 0.07 0.15

Reading

XLU returned more: +640.5% to +402.6%. XLU swung less: 18.1% to 26.2%. XLU fell less at its worst: −48.3% to −82.7%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: XLF vs XLU: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	XLF	XLU	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+402.6%	+640.5%	XLU	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+6.0%	+7.4%	XLU	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+138.5%	+181.6%	XLU	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	26.2%	18.1%	XLU	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	17.8%	12.8%	XLU	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−82.7%	−48.3%	XLU	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.28	0.39	XLU	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.42	0.55	XLU	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.07	0.15	XLU	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,451 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, XLF and XLU 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 XLU

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 XLU

NEXTERA ENERGY INC 12.76%

SOUTHERN CO 7.91%

DUKE ENERGY CORP 7.22%

CONSTELLATION ENERGY 6.33%

AMERICAN ELECTRIC POWER 5.26%

DOMINION ENERGY INC 4.26%

SEMPRA 4.12%

ENTERGY CORP 3.75%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

XLF State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF XLU State Street Utilities 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 Utilities

Total return, 1 year +7.6% −3.0%

Expense ratio 0.08% 0.08%

Already in the S&P 500 99.8% 99.7%

Holdings 77 32

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $51.6bn $23.9bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-473A325963

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

What each follows. XLF follows Financial Select Sector Index and XLU follows Utilities 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 XLU −3.0% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 10.6 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.

XLU

XLU tracks an index of Utilities. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −3.0% 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 32 positions, with the top ten at 58.7%. It sat 9.1% below its high of Feb 27, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, XLF or XLU?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, XLF returned +7.6% and XLU −3.0%.
Which is cheaper, XLF or XLU?: Neither: XLF and XLU both charge 0.08% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do XLF and XLU overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 100% of XLF and 100% of XLU by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

VPU vs XLF XLF vs XLY VHT vs XLF XLF vs XLI KRE vs XLU SCHH vs XLU VDC vs XLU FUTY vs XLU

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

XLF and XLU filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

XLF and XLU 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 XLU, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/xlf-vs-xlu

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