FXO vs XLF: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

First Trust Financials AlphaDEX Fund

FXOBNYSE Arca

State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF

XLFANYSE Arca

Overlap

21.2%by weight

Expense ratio

XLF −0.52pt a year

FXO0.60%XLF0.08%

Avg volume · 30D

XLF 574.2×the volume

FXO58.7KXLF33.7M

10Y return · a year

FXO +0.1pt

FXO+12.9%XLF+12.8%

FXO vs XLF Performance

Nov 9, 2021 – Nov 9, 2026

+55.1%FXO+57.8%XLF

Expense ratio: FXO 0.60%; XLF 0.08%, better
Fund size: FXO $1.07B; XLF $53.4B
1Y total return: FXO +16.0%, better; XLF +11.6%
Yield (12M): FXO 2.13%, better; XLF 1.42%
Holdings: FXO 106; XLF 79
Avg volume (30D): FXO 58.7K sh; XLF 33.7M sh, better
NAV per share: FXO $64.72; XLF $57.16
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for FXO, XLF, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	FXO	XLF
Cost30% weight	F15	A97Higher
Mission25% weight	A99Higher	A85
Risk15% weight	B63Higher	B57
Tradability15% weight	C53	A100Higher
Holdings10% weight	A85Higher	C42
Durability5% weight	C49	A81Higher

Rank among Financials (Broad) funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. FXO and XLF are both graded against the same 18 Financials (Broad) funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

Financials (Broad)⁠

Category · 18 funds

See all 18 ›

XLF ranks 1st and FXO 10th of 18 funds in the Financials (Broad) Category.

Rank 1AXLFState Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETFScore 82
Rank 2AFNCLFidelity MSCI Financials Index ETFScore 73
Rank 9BIAKiShares U.S. Insurance ETFScore 58
Rank 10BFXOFirst Trust Financials AlphaDEX FundScore 57
Rank 11CRSPFInvesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Financials ETFScore 54

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

FXOBFirst Trust Financials AlphaDEX Fund

XLFAState Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF

In short

FXO No data

XLF The 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.

Stated mandate

FXO No data

XLF The fund seeks to track, before expenses, the price and yield performance of the Financial Select Sector Index.

Why people hold it

FXO No data

XLF 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

FXO No data

XLF 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.

Full FXO profile⁠

Full XLF profile⁠

FXO vs XLF Holdings

How FXO and XLF differ

Overlap by weight

21.2%

Shared holdings make up 47.3% of XLF and 38.4% of FXO.

Level by level

Holdings44 in both21.2%
Sector4 Sectors95.2%
Countryby domicile99.4%
Asset classStocks100%

Sector

Sector weights in FXO and XLF, widest gap first
Sector	Gap	FXO	XLF
Financials	XLF +4.5 points	93.5%	98.0%
Real Estate	FXO +4.0 points	4.0%	0.0%
Technology	FXO +0.9 points	2.5%	1.7%
Industrials	XLF +0.3 points	0.0%	0.3%

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in FXO and XLF, widest gap first
Country	More in FXOMore in XLF	Gap	FXO	XLF
Switzerland		XLF +0.6 points	1.0%	1.6%
Other countries (2)		FXO +0.6 points	99.0%	98.4%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

FXO17.8%
XLF57.3%

Securities held

FXO105
XLF76

Asset class

FXO: Stocks
XLF: Stocks

Holdings

Only in FXO61
In both44
Only in XLF32

Only in FXO

61 securities, 61.4% of FXO by weight

Chime Financial, Inc. (Class A)1.84%
Markel Group Inc1.77%
Axis Capital Holdings Limited1.76%
White Mountains Insurance Group Ltd.1.75%
MGIC Investment Corporation1.73%
First American Financial Corporation1.73%
Bank OZK1.72%
RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd.1.71%
Assured Guaranty Ltd.1.70%
Old Republic International Corporation1.66%
Annaly Capital Management, Inc.1.55%
AGNC Investment Corp.1.51%
Central Bancompany, Inc.1.44%
The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc.1.35%
Columbia Banking System, Inc.1.27%
CNA Financial Corporation1.26%
SouthState Bank Corporation1.25%
F.N.B. Corporation1.23%
Jefferies Financial Group Inc.1.23%
Zions Bancorporation, National Association1.23%
Ally Financial Inc.1.20%
OneMain Holdings, Inc.1.20%
Western Alliance Bancorporation1.19%
Lincoln National Corporation1.19%
Affiliated Managers Group, Inc.1.18%
LPL Financial Holdings Inc.1.15%
RLI Corp.1.10%
Kinsale Capital Group, Inc.1.06%
Fidelity National Financial, Inc.1.01%
Evercore Inc.0.98%
First Citizens BancShares, Inc. (Class A)0.98%
Prosperity Bancshares, Inc.0.97%
Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc.0.96%
Rithm Capital Corp.0.92%
Hamilton Lane Incorporated (Class A)0.92%
SEI Investments Company0.91%
BOK Financial Corporation0.91%
First Hawaiian, Inc.0.90%
First Horizon Corporation0.89%
SLM Corporation0.89%
Ryan Specialty Holdings, Inc. (Class A)0.77%
Morningstar, Inc.0.76%
Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.0.70%
Freedom Holding Corp.0.63%
Primerica, Inc.0.63%
Wintrust Financial Corporation0.63%
Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated0.63%
Corebridge Financial, Inc.0.61%
Stifel Financial Corp.0.60%
Popular, Inc.0.60%

Only in XLF

32 securities, 52.6% of XLF by weight

JPMorgan Chase & Co11.05%
Visa Inc Class A Shares8.95%
Mastercard Inc A6.56%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc3.13%
Morgan Stanley2.69%
BlackRock Inc2.11%
American Express Co2.10%
Capital One Financial Corp1.54%
Cme Group Inc1.37%
Marsh & Mclennan Cos1.21%
Intercontinental Exchange In1.20%
Blackstone Inc1.11%
Moody’s Corp0.94%
Arthur J Gallagher & Co0.90%
Kkr & Co Inc0.83%
Apollo Global Management Inc0.69%
Metlife Inc0.65%
PayPal Holdings Inc0.63%
Fifth Third Bancorp0.60%
Nasdaq Inc0.59%
Msci Inc0.58%
Block Inc0.57%
Fiserv Inc0.42%
Coinbase Global Inc Class A0.37%
Corpay Inc0.37%
Synchrony Financial0.30%
Global Payments Inc0.27%
Principal Financial Group0.27%
Fidelity National Info Serv0.18%
Jack Henry & Associates Inc0.15%
Invesco Ltd0.15%
Erie Indemnity Company Class A0.09%

Weight gaps

All 44 Holdings in both funds, largest gap first.

Holding weights in FXO and XLF, widest gap first
Holding	Gap	FXO	XLF
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (Class B)BRK.B	XLF +11.42 points	1.79%	13.21%
Bank of America CorporationBAC	XLF +3.45 points	0.54%	3.99%
Wells Fargo & CompanyWFC	XLF +2.53 points	0.62%	3.15%
Citigroup Inc.C	XLF +1.66 points	0.82%	2.48%
Everest Group, Ltd.EG	FXO +1.58 points	1.76%	0.18%
The Charles Schwab CorporationSCHW	XLF +1.57 points	0.28%	1.85%
Cincinnati Financial CorporationCINF	FXO +1.47 points	1.82%	0.35%
S&P Global Inc.SPGI	XLF +1.41 points	0.35%	1.76%
Arch Capital Group Ltd.ACGL	FXO +1.37 points	1.82%	0.45%
T. Rowe Price Group, Inc.TROW	FXO +1.34 points	1.63%	0.29%
The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc.HIG	FXO +1.26 points	1.71%	0.45%
American International Group, Inc.AIG	FXO +1.12 points	1.63%	0.51%
Loews CorporationL	FXO +1.02 points	1.25%	0.23%
The Allstate CorporationALL	FXO +1.00 points	1.80%	0.80%
FactSet Research Systems Inc.FDS	FXO +0.94 points	1.08%	0.14%
M&T Bank CorporationMTB	FXO +0.80 points	1.19%	0.39%
Globe Life Inc.GL	FXO +0.69 points	0.84%	0.15%
The Bank of New York Mellon CorporationBNY	XLF +0.64 points	0.61%	1.25%
Regions Financial CorporationRF	FXO +0.64 points	0.94%	0.30%
Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (Class A)IBKR	FXO +0.63 points	1.06%	0.43%
Chubb LimitedCB	XLF +0.59 points	1.00%	1.59%
U.S. BancorpUSB	XLF +0.54 points	0.61%	1.15%
Aon Plc (Class A)AON	XLF +0.52 points	0.36%	0.88%
Truist Financial CorporationTFC	FXO +0.52 points	1.27%	0.75%
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.PNC	XLF +0.52 points	0.60%	1.12%
Northern Trust CorporationNTRS	FXO +0.52 points	0.91%	0.39%
Assurant, Inc.AIZ	FXO +0.50 points	0.69%	0.19%
KeyCorpKEY	FXO +0.38 points	0.62%	0.23%
Robinhood Markets, Inc. (Class A)HOOD	XLF +0.37 points	0.43%	0.80%
Ameriprise Financial, Inc.AMP	FXO +0.36 points	0.91%	0.55%
The Progressive CorporationPGR	XLF +0.34 points	1.31%	1.65%
Aflac IncorporatedAFL	FXO +0.30 points	0.99%	0.69%
The Travelers Companies, Inc.TRV	FXO +0.30 points	1.32%	1.02%
State Street CorporationSTT	XLF +0.29 points	0.28%	0.57%
Franklin Templeton, Inc.BEN	FXO +0.19 points	0.31%	0.12%
W.R. Berkley CorporationWRB	FXO +0.12 points	0.33%	0.21%
Prudential Financial, Inc.PRU	FXO +0.11 points	0.62%	0.51%
Brown & Brown, Inc.BRO	FXO +0.09 points	0.35%	0.26%
Huntington Bancshares IncorporatedHBAN	XLF +0.09 points	0.30%	0.39%
Cboe Global Markets, Inc.CBOE	XLF +0.08 points	0.38%	0.46%
Raymond James Financial, Inc.RJF	XLF +0.04 points	0.31%	0.35%
Willis Towers Watson PlcWTW	XLF +0.04 points	0.34%	0.38%
Citizens Financial Group, Inc.CFG	XLF +0.04 points	0.29%	0.33%
Ares Management Corporation (Class A)ARES	XLF +0.03 points	0.34%	0.37%

All 105 FXO holdings⁠All 76 XLF holdings⁠

How we measure overlap

Each holding counts at its smaller weight in the two funds, summed over the full Holdings. Sector, country and asset class use the same rule on each fund’s split. Cash, FX and derivative lines stay out of the counts. Two bond funds get no overlap figure.

FXO vs XLF Cost

Overpaying FXO vs XLF

$10,128

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

FXO 0.60%
$11,817
XLF 0.08%
$1,689

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

FXO 0.60%
XLF 0.08%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	FXO	XLF	Overpaying
10	$1,076	$147	$929
20	$4,116	$575	$3,541
30	$11,817	$1,689	$10,128

Expense ratio

0.60%FXO
0.08%XLF, cheaper

XLF0.08%FXO0.60%

0.08%5.39%

Middle half of Financials (Broad) funds
Median 0.37%

XLF cheapest of 18 funds

FXO 15th cheapest of 18 funds

FXO vs XLF Dividends

Last 12 months to Nov 9, 2026

Yield (12M): FXO 2.13%, better; XLF 1.42%
Payout (12M): FXO $1.40; XLF $0.83
Last payment: FXO $0.33; XLF $0.20
Ex-dividend: FXO Sep 24, 2026; XLF Sep 21, 2026
Paid on: FXO Sep 30, 2026; XLF Sep 23, 2026
Frequency: FXO Quarterly; XLF Quarterly

Distribution history

Per share, 2017 to 2026, same scale for both

FXOQuarterly · 39 paymentsAll FXO payments⁠

XLFQuarterly · 39 paymentsAll XLF payments⁠

FXO vs XLF Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: FXO 17.3%XLF 15.0%, better
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: FXO 1.07XLF 1.13, better
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: FXO −28.8%XLF −25.8%, better
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: FXO 0.95XLF 0.75; Market = 1

FXO and XLF in the news

All news⁠

Deep Dive
Bank earnings week will miss most of what a financials fund owns
Oct 12, 2026FXOXLF
Closing Bell
Dow leaps 3.03%, oil falls over 8% after Democrats win Congress
Nov 4, 2026XLF
Top Movers
Natural gas funds lead a flat Tuesday as Micron, J&J and Citigroup fall
Oct 13, 2026XLF
Closing Bell
S&P 500 ends flat as Johnson & Johnson falls 5.7%
Oct 13, 2026XLF
Week Ahead
September CPI and bank earnings arrive two weeks before the Fed decides
Oct 11, 2026XLF
Sector Pulse
Caterpillar and Deere fell as industrials dropped 2.2%
Oct 7, 2026XLF

Popular comparisons

FXOBvsFNCLA
First Trust Financials AlphaDEX Fund · Fidelity MSCI Financials Index ETF
Expense ratio
0.60% · 0.08%
Category
XLFAvsVFHB
State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF · Vanguard Financials ETF
Expense ratio
0.08% · 0.09%
Category
FXOBvsKIEA
First Trust Financials AlphaDEX Fund · State Street SPDR S&P Insurance ETF
Expense ratio
0.60% · 0.35%
Category
XLFAvsFNCLA
State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF · Fidelity MSCI Financials Index ETF
Expense ratio
0.08% · 0.08%
Category
FXOBvsVFHB
First Trust Financials AlphaDEX Fund · Vanguard Financials ETF
Expense ratio
0.60% · 0.09%
Category
XLFAvsIYFB
State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF · iShares U.S. Financials ETF
Expense ratio
0.08% · 0.37%
Category

FXO vs XLF

In short

Stated mandate

Why people hold it