IXP vs XLC

IXPCiShares Global Comm Services ETF

XLCAState Street Communication Services Select Sector SPDR ETF

In short

IXP IXP is the passport version of a communication services fund: one global basket of roughly 60 phone, media and internet companies, on the shelf since 2001.

XLC Launched in 2018, XLC bottles the communication services corner of the S&P 500: search, social, streaming and the phone companies, in one 0.08% wrapper that trades heavily all day.

Stated mandate

IXP The fund seeks to track an index of global equities in the communication services sector.

XLC The fund seeks to track, before expenses, the price and yield performance of the Communication Services Select Sector Index.

Why people hold it

• IXP Global by mandate. It tracks an index of communication services companies worldwide, so overseas carriers and media groups sit next to the familiar US mega-caps.ishares.com
• Trading since 2001, back when sector index funds were still a novelty, and it grew from a global telecom fund into the broader communication services mandate it carries now.ishares.com
• About 60 holdings makes for a readable portfolio: you can actually name what you own instead of buying a thousand-ticker blur.

• XLC Costs 0.08% a year, a fraction of the typical fund in this sector group and tied with the cheapest of them (FCOM at 0.08%, VOX at 0.09%).
• A multi-billion-dollar fund and one of the busiest tickers in its category, so getting in and out is rarely the hard part.
• Clean, rules-based job: it shadows the Communication Services Select Sector Index closely, one of the tightest implementations in its peer group.ssga.com
• Large-cap only: constituents come from the S&P 500, spanning telecom, media, entertainment and interactive media, with S&P capping rules limiting how big any one name gets.ssga.comspglobal.com

Worth knowing

• IXP The 0.37% fee sits at the category median, but US-focused peers like XLC, FCOM and VOX charge a fraction of it. The global reach is what the difference buys.
• Trading is light next to the category's biggest names, so spreads can run wider, especially on large orders or jumpy days.
• Distributions land once or twice a year rather than quarterly, and with foreign holdings, currency moves ride along with the stocks.

• XLC This is the most top-heavy neighborhood in the index. Even with capping at rebalance, a few mega-cap internet names set the tone for the whole fund.spglobal.com
• One sector out of eleven in the S&P 500, so it tracks ad budgets, subscriptions and phone bills rather than the broad market.spglobal.com
• FCOM and VOX sit within a penny of the same fee, so the real choice is index breadth: XLC stops at the S&P 500. Distributions come quarterly.ssga.com

Full IXP profile⁠

Full XLC profile⁠