GRID vs XBI: which is really different?
GRID and XBI hold 0% of their weight in the same names, and XBI returned +45.0% over the year. First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund and State Street(R) SPDR(R) S&P(R) Biotech ETF.
XBI costs 0.21 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 25.5 points; GRID is 1.2 times larger.
| GRID | XBI | |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.56% | 0.35% |
| Net assets, GRID as of Oct 9, 2026 and XBI as of Oct 8, 2026 | $12.2bn | $9.9bn |
| Total return, 1 year | +19.5% | +45.0% |
| What it tracks | Electrification and the grid | Biotech |
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
| S&P 500, total return, 1 year | +17.3% | |
| Against the S&P 500, 1 year | ahead by 2.3 pts | ahead by 27.7 pts |
| Active share vs the S&P 500 | 92% | |
| Below its all-time high | 8.9%, high on May 11, 2026 | 11.1%, high on Feb 8, 2021 |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 8, 2026.
41% of GRID's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 60% is outside the index. Holdings as of Oct 8, 2026.
13% of XBI's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 87% is outside the index. Holdings as of Oct 8, 2026.
A percentile among the 391 thematic ETFs with a holdings filing. All thematic ETFs ranked by it → How it is computed →
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, GRID and XBI hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Oct 8, 2026.
half
0% in common
0% of the two portfolios are the same securities at the same weight.
Performance, window by window
| Total return | vs the S&P 500 | vs the Nasdaq-100 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | GRID | XBI | GRID | XBI | GRID | XBI |
| 3 months | −1.9% | −3.3% | −5.3 pts | −6.7 pts | −5.6 pts | −7.0 pts |
| 6 months | +2.3% | +18.9% | −12.9 pts | +3.8 pts | −20.9 pts | −4.3 pts |
| 1 year | +19.5% | +45.0% | +2.3 pts | +27.7 pts | −4.0 pts | +21.4 pts |
| 3 years | +98.8% | +114.6% | +13.1 pts | +28.8 pts | −8.4 pts | +7.3 pts |
| Since launch GRID Nov 2009 · XBI Feb 2006 | +621.8% | +890.7% | −223.3 pts | +92.2 pts | −1,223.8 pts | −1,164.7 pts |
Source: ETFIQ. Open the live comparison on ETFIQ →
On the same fields
As of Oct 9, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
GRID in plain words
By weight, 40% of GRID's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 92%. The top ten holdings are 58% of the fund across 123 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 8, 2026. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 the fund returned +19.5% with distributions reinvested against +17.3% for the S&P 500, so a holder was ahead by 2.3 pts. It sits 8.9% below its all-time high of May 11, 2026.
XBI in plain words
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 17% of the fund across 165 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 8, 2026. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 the fund returned +45.0% with distributions reinvested against +17.3% for the S&P 500, so a holder was ahead by 27.7 pts. It sits 11.1% below its all-time high of Feb 8, 2021.
Questions people ask
- Do GRID and XBI hold the same stocks?
- By their latest filings, 0% of their books are the same securities at the same weight, which is mostly different names. Overlap is the sum of the smaller weight of every security they share.
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure; a link is not an endorsement. A comparison is not a recommendation.
How this is computed
It is a position in a set, not a rating, and neither end of it is a recommendation.
Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed.
Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested.
ETFIQ, GRID against XBI, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/grid-vs-xbi
ETFIQ. (Oct 9, 2026). GRID against XBI. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/grid-vs-xbi
[GRID against XBI (ETFIQ, Oct 9, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/grid-vs-xbi)
Free to use with attribution for figures ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.