State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF
$54.82−0.23 (−0.41%)
- 0.08%
- $51.7B
- +7.2%
- 1.50%
- 34.4M sh
- $54.73
- low $47.67high $58.60
The ETF.net XLF Grade
A
Score 82 out of 100
- 1 of 18
Score 82 of 100 falls in the A band. A is 70 or higher, B 55 to under 70, C 40 to under 55, D 25 to under 40, F under 25.
Cost
The fund’s net expense ratio, ranked against its category.A97 out of 100Rank 1 of 18Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.A85 out of 100Rank 2 of 10Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.B62 out of 100Rank 3 of 18Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.A100 out of 100Rank 1 of 18Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.C43 out of 100Rank 14 of 18Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.A81 out of 100Rank 2 of 18
Our read on XLF
AThe 1998 original. XLF holds the S&P 500's financial sector, roughly 80 banks, insurers, card networks and exchanges, for 0.08% a year. Not the whole sector, the blue-chip end of it, and one of the most heavily traded ways to own it.
The fund seeks to track, before expenses, the price and yield performance of the Financial Select Sector Index.
Why people hold it
- At 0.08% a year, XLF sits at the cheap end of financial sector funds, well under the 0.44% cohort median and a hair below Vanguard's VFH at 0.09%.
- Trading since December 1998 and heavily traded ever since, so spreads stay tight whether you buy a hundred shares or a hundred thousand.
- Simple plumbing: it owns substantially all the stocks in the Financial Select Sector Index in index proportions, and tracks that benchmark closely.sec.gov
- One of the strongest implementations in the broad financials group on cost, tradability and index fidelity combined.
Worth knowing
- S&P 500 members only, so small and mid-sized regional banks are out. VFH and FNCL cast a wider net across the market-cap range.sec.gov
- About 80 names in one sector: banks, insurers, capital markets and mortgage REITs all bend to the same rate and credit cycle, so swings run wider than a total-market fund.sec.gov
- Cash comes quarterly, not monthly.
XLF Holdings
- Stocks
- 79
- 58%
- BRK.B
Sectors
- Financials98.2%
- Technology1.6%
- Industrials0.2%
Geography
- United States96.69%
- Switzerland1.58%
- Ireland0.77%
- Bermuda0.60%
- United Kingdom0.36%
XLF Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
XLF$10,719
Returns run to the Oct 12, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
| Period | XLF |
|---|---|
| Year to date | +1.7% |
| 1 month | −3.5% |
| 3 months | −0.8% |
| 1 year | +7.2% |
| 3 years | +20.3% |
| 5 years | +9.3% |
| 10 years | +13.0% |
Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.
| Year | Return bar | XLF |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | +1.7% | |
| 2025 | +14.9% | |
| 2024 | +30.5% | |
| 2023 | +12.0% | |
| 2022 | −10.6% | |
| 2021 | +34.8% | |
| 2020 | −1.7% |
XLF in the news
XLF Dividends
- 1.50%
- $0.83
- $0.20 per share
- Quarterly
Distribution history
XLF Risk
- 15.0%
How it’s calculated: standard deviation
The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.
- 0.95
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio
Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.
Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.
- −25.8%
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown
The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.
Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.
- 0.75
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
XLF Cost
0.08%
XLF0.08%
- The middle half of Financials (Broad) funds
- Median 0.37%
No Financials (Broad) fund charges less.
Other funds in Financials (Broad)
- AFNCLFidelity MSCI Financials Index ETFExpense ratio 0.08%1 year return +7.3%
- AKIEState Street SPDR S&P Insurance ETFExpense ratio 0.35%1 year return +5.5%
- AVFHVanguard Financials ETFExpense ratio 0.09%1 year return +7.4%
- BIXGiShares Global Financials ETFExpense ratio 0.38%1 year return +15.9%
- BIYFiShares U.S. Financials ETFExpense ratio 0.37%1 year return +7.3%